George Osbourne calls for FSA to block excessive bonuses and remuneration
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne today called for the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to become instrumental in the blocking of large remuneration and bonus packages for UK banks. On a BBC current affairs programme he questioned the right of all UK banks, which have all benefited to some extent from taxpayer investment into the sector, to effectively use taxpayer funding to pay large bonuses and remuneration packages.
This comes at a time when the FSA is in the process of forwarding a questionnaire to all UK banks as it attempts to understand how bonuses are paid and on what basis they are calculated. Whether this is just window dressing ahead of the expected change in banking practices in January 2010 remains to be seen because ultimately even the FSA has not confirmed exactly how it will be able to controll large salaries in the sector.
One of George Osborne's strongest arguments is the fact that whether through direct share investment or else liquidity injected into the money markets, ALL banks in the UK have benefited from taxpayer assistance to some degree. As a consequence, and until all taxpayer funding is repaid, he believes that UK banks should be forced to rein in their remuneration packages with a strict calculation introduced relating to bank finances, remuneration and bonuses.
Share this..
Related stories
Bouncing babies spell bouncing cheques
Many parents are finding themselves unable to cope with the costs of having a family and are getting into debt as a result.According to a survey conducted by Money Expert, as many as four in ten parents end up in the red before their baby reaches its first birthday, as all the costs of having a child add up and parents have to cope with a decrease in income.While the average parent ends £1,140 in...
Read MoreWhat effect does rising unemployment have on an economy?
The effects of rising unemployment on the UK economy should not be underestimated as it will have significant consequences going forward. Not only does it place more pressure upon the benefit system, with more and more funding required, but it also reduces taxable income in the UK therefore reducing the overall pot from which the benefit system is funded.
Aside from purely financial...
Are we nearing the end of final salary pension schemes?
It has been revealed that 80% of company directors in the UK believe that final salary pension schemes will close their doors to new members in the short term. The ongoing recession coupled with the performance of investment markets over the last decade has seen more and more final salary pension schemes slip into deficit which has resulted in a very heavy burden for sponsoring companies. While...
Read MoreUK inflation starting to rise
News that the October consumer price index increased by 1.5% has caught many analysts off-guard as has the 1.8% increase in the core rate of inflation. It seems highly likely that consumer price inflation may reach 2.5% in the early months of 2010 although after that there is a difference of opinion as to which direction it will go.
As a consequence of the increase in inflation we a...
Will UK car production continue to improve?
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has this week confirmed that UK car sales are starting to recover and the fall in production numbers has improved dramatically although it is still down 16.1% compared to September last year. However, this is the lowest reduction rate in UK car production for 12 months but will it continue?
There is no doubt that the UK governmen...