Is RBS being very charitable and planning some M&A redundancies only AFTER its bonuses vest in June?

An anonymous person purporting to be from RBS, but possibly from DFS, has contacted us to claim that the bank is planning to cull numerous of its M&A and sector bankers at the end of June.

Specifically, the person alleges that:

- 30% headcount reductions are expected across M&A and sector origination business.

- There are rumours that some country teams will be streamlined and relocated to the central hub of London

The strategy has allegedly been concocted by John McIntyre and John Owen, both of whom were hired last year to lead corporate finance and corporate coverage at RBS respectively.

However, a spokeswoman for RBS says the claims are incorrect, that it's totally wrong to suggest that RBS is pulling back from UK corporate finance and that it's just hired two MDs and one director to the business.

She also says: "We constantly review our business model and adjust accordingly, in order to ensure it is operating at its optimum level and that we have the right people and resources in place to meet our clients' needs."

If RBS does make any redundancies in June, M&A headhunters suggest it might be with a view to a little upgrading. "I don't think there will be permission to increase headcount," says one. "If they want to upgrade, it means they'll have to get rid of people.

"Being RBS, and a publicly owned company, they'll be very nice about it and make redundancies only after bonuses have been paid," he adds. "It's a bit like working for the civil service."