Banker party at £7,000 Brits

Both Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland – now 70 per cent owned by the taxpayer – savoured lavish hospitality at the glittering event, where tables cost £7,000 each.

The shocking revelation comes just days after Lloyds spent a six-figure sum on renewing its sponsorship of the Chelsea Flower Show, while RBS is spending taxpayers’ money to wine and dine clients at F1 races.

It is understood that RBS had five tables at Wednesday’s awards, and, while food is provided, those attending have to pay for their own drinks.

The Royal Bank is thought to have paid for one of the tables, with Mastercard, the main sponsor of the Brits, providing the rest. Two of the tables from Mastercard were given to members of the RBS credit card division, while the other two were split between staff from other RBS divisions, their guests and customers.

Mastercard is also thought to have provided RBS customers with balcony tickets. Additionally, Lloyds – which is 43 per cent owned by the taxpayer – is understood to have had a number of staff from its retail banking division present at the Brits.

The Lloyds tables were said to have been provided by Mastercard. However, the news will do little to allay the public anger at the banks, which this week will unveil dire annual results.

On Thursday, RBS is expected to post a British record loss of more than £28billion, due to its toxic credit assets, bad loans and its disastrous acquisition of Dutch merchant bank ABN Amro.

Additionally, the Edinburgh-based bank is thought to be on the verge of cutting 20,000 jobs.

The next day will see Lloyds unveil a near £10billion loss, which is almost entirely down to the toxic credit investment write downs and bad debts contained within Halifax Bank of Scotland.

Lloyds completed the government-brokered acquisition of HBOS last month and is expected to make tens of thousands of its staff redundant.

Earlier this month, Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, condemned the banks’ spending on sporting events, saying: “It is ridiculous that taxpayer-funded banks are using our money to sponsor sporting events, especially the rich man’s sport of Formula One.”

RBS is currently reviewing all of its sponsorship contracts. A spokesperson said: “We recognise the need to ensure our sponsorship activity reflects the process of restructuring.”

Last week, Gordon Brown proclaimed that the banking sector’s “old excesses” were coming to an end, after RBS bowed to pressure and slashed its cash bonuses for staff by 90 per cent.

Brown said that anyone associated with a loss cannot receive a bonus and that the crackdown would also apply to Lloyds and HBOS, the two other banks that had to be propped up by the taxpayer.

He added that the bonus culture that encouraged banks to take excessive risks will end.

The Treasury forced RBS to cut its cash bonuses from a planned £1billion to £175million.

Last year it paid out £2.5billion. Its 80,000 frontline staff will also lose their bonuses, previously paid as a lump sum of about £2,000. Instead they will get a pay rise of 10 per cent.

Cash bonuses will be paid only to those with legally binding guarantees. Staff considered essential to the bank’s recovery who might otherwise leave will receive deferred awards for 2008 in shares, which could be clawed back if their work brings losses.

Pay for senior and US staff and those in its investment banking arm will be frozen. Lloyds is thought to be following the lead of RBS and has submitted its revised bonus plans to the government.

Lloyds, HBOS and RBS were forced to turn to the taxpayer for a bailout back in October as their falling share prices and fears  about the extent of their toxic credit losses had raised doubts about their survival.

More than £37billion of public money has been injected into HBOS, RBS and Lloyds.