Treasury to to force banks to reveal details of 'fat cat' bonus deals

By Rob Davies for the Daily Mail
Updated: 02:52 EDT, 7 December 2011

Banks will be forced to reveal details of the money-spinning bonus deals enjoyed by top staff if the government presses ahead with proposals that would also include foreign lenders with UK offices.

The Treasury wants any UK bank with assets of more than £50billion – likely to include 15 lenders – to reveal the pay of their eight highest-paid executives who are not board members. It said the consultation – due to close on Valentine’s Day next year – was designed to ‘help tackle unacceptable bank bonuses’.

The statement came just hours after chancellor George Osborne backed a call from Bank of England governor Mervyn King, pictured, for banks to cut wages as part of efforts to build up capital over the winter.

Backed: Bank of England governor Mervyn King called for banks to cut wages

Under the Project Merlin agreement that saw high street banks sign up to lending targets, the five biggest lenders – RBS, Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and Santander – have already agreed to publish the pay deals of their five top earners.

But the proposals laid out by Mark Hoban, financial secretary to the Treasury, would extend the number to eight and include top figures at global giants with City bases such as Goldman Sachs and UBS.

‘We want shareholders to hold banks to account for their bonus structure, which is why we’re taking action to make top-level pay more transparent,’ said Hoban.

‘We want the most transparency for those with the greatest responsibility.’ Disclosure on pay would not include the names of the top eight earners, Treasury sources said, because the proposal is aimed at improving transparency rather than demonising people who are handsomely paid.

The Association of British Insurers, whose members hold 15 per cent of the FTSE 100, said this week that banks should rein in the bonus culture to match the pain suffered by investors.