The admission came at a RBS shareholder’s meeting.

Sir Philip Hampton is not the only bank boss to have had his credit card fraudulently used – former HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby had his account frozen after a thief stole his details and withdrew thousands of pounds.

Barclays chairman Marcus Agius reportedly had £10,000 stolen from his bank account by a credit card conman who obtained a card in his name.

It comes after a study by Which? found that at least 1 in 10 people were making a written record of their PIN, potentially allowing for card fraud to more easily take place.

Not only that, but it would be a breach of credit card terms of conditions, and make any such consumer liable for losses – as opposed to the banks.

According to the report: Pin fraud warning to card users

Consumer group Which? said an estimated four million debit card holders and three million credit and charge card holders were putting themselves at an increased risk of having their account emptied by criminals through disclosing their Pin.

Most worryingly, a third of people who admitted they had written down their Pin said they kept it in their wallet or handbag.

A further 36% had it written down somewhere at home, while 9% had made a note of it in their office.