Will top bankers defect from the UK?
While Alistair Darling will today be appreciating the adulation of yesterday's announcement of an agreement between the U.K.'s top five banks to control remuneration and bonuses in the future, there is a feeling there could be a certain sting in the tail with regards to this story. There is even some debate as to whether the informal agreement between the government and the UK banking sector will actually hold-up and how this will impact upon well-paid bankers.
If you were in the shoes of US banking corporations and you saw a number of UK employees feeling the pressure and concern that their private details could well be released to the public, would you see yesterday's deal as a chance to head hunt the best of the rest?
This is the concern of many people in the UK financial sector, a sector which has to all intents and purposes supported the UK economy over the last few decades. London is already under pressure from the EU which is looking to steal control of the European financial markets and increase the profile of the EU on the whole. So taking away a potentially competitive edge which London has over many other financial markets around the world could well be the last straw and slowly see the influence and presence which London has held for many years start to trickle away.
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