THE man who earned the nickname "Fred the Shred" for his ruthless £2bn cost-saving measures has banked £1m in bonuses.

Fred Goodwin, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), was responsible for integrating its larger rival NatWest into the group after a takeover.

Mr Goodwin picked up £1.9m in pay and bonuses for last year, including a £990,000 performance bonus, after the bank posted an 11 per cent rise in annual profits to £7.15bn.

The 45-year-old also received shares currently worth £1.3m from a separate performance-related scheme, bringing his total remuneration for the year to £3.2m.

News of Mr Goodwin's pay packet broke a day after rival Barclays revealed that its chief executive Matthew Barrett is to double his annual pay package to £3.9m.

Mr Goodwin's £990,000 bonus was awarded because the bank achieved targets on profits, dividends and earnings per share.

The share options, granted under the bank's medium-term performance plan, are subject to three-year targets based on earnings per share and total shareholder return.

Last year, Mr Goodwin was awarded pay and bonuses totalling £2.6m, although it followed a year in which the bank integrated NatWest.

Amicus said the fact that companies were having to disclose details of executive pay was showing that "over-the-top" benefits were being paid at a time when workers were under the most stress.

"These huge salaries are built on the hard work of staff who are seeing no rewards," said national officer Dave Fleming.

Mr Goodwin's "Fred the Shred" nickname came because he achieved £2bn cost savings as a result of the steps he took during the integration of the £21bn NatWest acquisition.

This was achieved through measures such as combining the two banks' IT systems and cutting 18,000 jobs.