Bankers' bonuses

Posted: Wednesday November 19, 2008, 09:17

If it were a Hollywood blockbuster, it could be called The Five Years of Living Dangerously. Sadly, this was real life. Figures from the union Unite on the level of pay and bonuses showered on the bosses of Britain's leading high street banks are not new. But, set against the rising tide of business failures, home repossessions, redundancies and personal bankruptcy, the statistics retain the power to shock.

Since 2003, the chief executives of the big five, three of whom now require bail-out deals from the UK taxpayer, have scooped up between them more than £54m, not including shares. They range from nearly £7m for Andy Hornby of HBOS to more than £15m for Sir Fred Goodwin of RBS.

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Buckpool Loon

Absolutely right, but remember the government also got bonuses on the corporation tax gained through the financial alchemy.(Not the full rate of course, the banks being expert in the avoidance game. But what ever balnced out with the needs of dividends and profit/credit ratings)

This by itself explains much of the reasoning behind the tactics implimented by the government to attempt control and mitigate the cause and effect of the crises. So the question must be asked. Is that same government the one best placed to police the recovary. And is it sensible for them to be given that right when undeniably it happened on their watch and to a great extent they participated and exploited the phenomena?

Much is being said about the exploits of the pirates of Somalia, but I believe the pirates of Westminster, the City and Wall Street et al, are a far greater cause for concern.

Reply | Posted: 16 days ago

Polloftheday

Are you satisfied with the public apologies offered by the former heads of the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS?

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Viewpoint

Absolutely right, but remember the government also got bonuses on the corporation tax gained through the financial alchemy.(Not the full rate of course, the banks being expert in the avoidance game. But what ever balnced out with the needs of dividends and profit/credit ratings)

This by itself explains much of the reasoning behind the tactics implimented by the government to attempt control and mitigate the cause and effect of the crises. So the question must be asked. Is that same government the one best placed to police the recovary. And is it sensible for them to be given that right when undeniably it happened on their watch and to a great extent they participated and exploited the phenomena?

Much is being said about the exploits of the pirates of Somalia, but I believe the pirates of Westminster, the City and Wall Street et al, are a far greater cause for concern.

Buckpool Loon

Herald Leader: If it were a Hollywood blockbuster, it could be called The Five Years of Living Dangerously. Sadly, this was real... Read more

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