Individuals looking for banking jobs may be being discouraged from applying to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) due to the political row about bonuses.
This is according to its chief executive Stephen Hester, who told a BBC radio interview that coverage of the payments is affecting morale and perception of the organisation, People Management reports.
"Our ability to attract, retain and motivate the best people is still not what we want it to be," he said.
He was defending plans to pay out £950 million in bonuses to staff members at the institution's investment banking division, despite it posting a £1.1 billion loss for 2010.
Mr Hester added that RBS is working to improve staff motivation and develop the business, while addressing past mistakes.
Recently, it was reported by the Daily Telegraph that workers at Barclays Capital will receive pay rises of 24 per cent, while bonuses at the firm fell to 12 per cent.