Britain’s top five banks accept bonus terms

It has emerged that Britain’s five largest banks have agreed to bonus terms set out by the world’s leading nations at last week’s G20 summit.

The five UK banks that have accepted the curbs on bonuses are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered.

Under the new terms set out at last week’s summit, up to 60% of bonus payouts will be deferred over three years, with arrangements to ‘claw back’ payments from staff who fail to perform.

The G20 leaders also said banks will face tougher disclosure requirements.

Chancellor Alistair Darling said UK banks are leading the way by agreeing to the new rules and expects other leading nations to follow suit.

Mr Darling said: “It is vital that our financial services industry remains at the forefront of the industry globally and takes a responsible and long-term approach to remuneration.”

Since the credit crisis, bank bonuses have been the subject of heavy criticism since it is banks that are being blamed for the financial crisis, as excessive payouts were considered to be a significant cause of the big losses in the banking sector.

In a joint statement released through the Treasury, the five banks said: “It is essential that banking reward is consistent with effective risk management and that there is parity both nationally and internationally on these issues”.

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