UK government backtracks on bank earnings regulations
The UK government today stands accused of another massive U-turn after the revelation that despite months and months of pressurising the UK banking system to reveal the highest earners in the UK, there will be last-minute changes to the regulations. There were massive concerns that star traders in the UK would be forced to flee overseas if their earnings were revealed to the public, and this appears to be the reason why the UK government has finally caved.
Under the new regulations any financial institution in the UK will not be obliged to reveal the earnings of their top 20 non-boardroom employees which will see thousands and thousands of star traders in the UK retain their privacy in the longer term. Despite all the hype we saw last week during the Queen's speech and just after, the UK government has in effect performed a massive U-turn at the last minute having tried to bring in the changes in a very quiet and non-confrontational manner.
This act of backtracking shows more than any other how powerful the UK financial sector is and the fact that the government needs to keep UK financiers on board in the short, medium and longer term.
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