THE masters of the universe at RBS will be dismissive, at least privately, about the furore over any bonuses.
In fact they will be angry if the bonuses are not forthcoming. It is clear that the RBS boss, Stephen Hester, is keenly aware of that.
Mr Hester will worry about the risk of defections to rivals if people who think they have performed well do not
get rewarded.
A large number of the key people who would be in line for the largesse are in the investment banking arm, known at RBS as global banking and markets.
There is an irony here. Many of the senior bankers who came up with the whizzy toxic assets that have demolished so much of the industry will have been employed in this division.
But while it is virtually certain bonuses will not go to those who came up with the "innovative" banking products such as collateralised debt obligations, structured investment vehicles etc that crashed and burned, other parts of GBM are thought to have done well in 2008.
These include high-flying foreign exchange dealers, bond and commodity traders, and those who took profitable bets on interest rates via complex derivative contracts.
It can be highly arcane, high-pressure stuff, but also phenomenally profitable.
But it would not just be City-type traders. Senior RBS workers in areas such as corporate and small and medium-sized business lending, wealth management and even humble insurance could be expecting bonuses.
And they will justify their thinking thus: "OK, the bank generally messed up, but my particular part did very well and I contributed. Why shouldn't I be rewarded?"
Ronnie Fox, of the City law firm Fox Solicitors, goes along with this.
"A well-administered bonus incentive arrangement will reflect individual performance, the profitability of the relevant business and the market environment," he said.
"I always look carefully at the business qualifications of those who describe bonuses as exorbitant or unnecessary."
And how much are we talking about? Often such people in financial services and the City will be earning in the region of £100,000 to £150,000, some very much more.
Bonuses in the faster lanes of banking are also in a wide range of multiples to basic salaries. A person on a £100,000 basic salary might easily have a £50,000 bonus on top. Some bankers will see their overall remuneration split half-and-half: 50 per cent basic and 50 per cent bonus.
One remuneration lawyer told me: "In the more exotic reaches of banking, say the star traders and other 'rainmakers' who bring in the profits, bonuses can be as much as three or four times the basic salary."
And will these bankers and traders "walk" in a huff if they do not get the bonuses they believe they deserve?
That is more difficult to judge. They might have in the past. But with so many banks sacking thousands of workers, many might think twice now.
