Sir Howard Davies’ appointment as a director of Royal Bank of Scotland, before he becomes the bank’s chairman, has been delayed because of his review of UK airport capacity.
The bank said yesterday that it was dropping a resolution on the appointment that would have gone to a vote at its annual shareholder meeting in Edinburgh today (Tuesday).
Sir Howard is still expected to take over as RBS chairman as scheduled on September 1.
“Given his commitment to the UK Airports Commission, until its final report is published, Sir Howard’s appointment as a non-executive director will be subject to a short delay,” the bank said.
The commission has to recommend how best to increase airport capacity in the southeast, either by building a new runway at Gatwick or extending or adding a third runway at Heathrow.
The decision was expected to be announced before the end of this month, but there has been speculation that it will be delayed until next month, the Times reported.
Sir Howard commissioned a last-minute public consultation on the impact of any airport expansion on local air quality last month, after the UK was told to speed up efforts to combat air pollution.