From the BBC:
One Labour MP and member of the Treasury Committee criticised what she described as the government's lack of action over bonuses.
"In 2009 the chancellor [George Osborne] said government should act in light of unacceptable bank bonuses stating that we could not wait for the 'promised land of a responsible bonus culture'," said Chuka Umunna, "But, now in power, he chooses to sit on his hands."
She called on the government to introduce a remuneration disclosure scheme, requiring banks to reveal how much their senior employees earn.
Ahem.
UPDATE: 18:52, they corrected it before I got home, so I can't take a screenshot. Damn.
Range
2 hours ago
5 comments:
Well, whatever his/her sex. she/he is still a wanker
They all look the same, doncha know. ;)
The Beeb have corrected it now.
Are not bankers' bonuses a matter for the shareholders? If the major shareholder is the state, why don't the representatives of the state simply tell the directors of the bank not to award the bonuses, as presumably, they can, as owners of the business, or am I wrong about this. If the bank is independent of the state it's none of the MPs' damn business what the directors decide to pay their employees.
Politics of envy, again.
B: "Are not bankers' bonuses a matter for the shareholders?"
Correct. That is the beginning, middle and end of the matter. With Lloyds/HBOS and RBS/NatWest, the government (i.e. the taxpayer) is the majority shareholder (if you take shares and other loans and guarantees into account). The bonuses that Barclays or HSBC pay are of no concern to anybody.
Also, If you were in a position to award yourself and your colleagues massive bonuses, you'd do it wouldn't you? I would, and most people would. The problem is therefore not with the bankers, it's with whoever lets them award themselves huge sums of what is, ultimately, taxpayers money. If this is the government, WTF aren't they doing something about it and if it isn't, WTF isn't it?
I suppose those are the questions the powers-that-be don't really want asked, let alone answered.
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