© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: General view of the Bank of England in the City of London, England. September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File
By Huw Jones
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain on Tuesday scrapped bonus limits for bankers that had been in place since becoming a member of the European Union, marking a clear difference between post-Brexit financial rules and those of the 27-nation bloc it left in 2020.
London was outvoted in the EU when the restrictions were introduced in 2014 to try to prevent behavior that led to the 2008 global financial crisis and taxpayer bailouts of banks.
Most of the affected bankers are based in London, and the Bank of England (BoE) has long said that the cap, which limits bonuses to double base salary if shareholders approve it, simply results in higher salaries at a fixed interest rate to avoid things happening. the.
The BoE and the Financial Conduct Authority proposed removing the cap in a public consultation at the start of the year and its removal was confirmed in the final policy published on Tuesday.
The two regulators have a mission to help London’s competitiveness as a global financial center compared to New York, which has no premium limits.
In a joint statement, the regulators said the changes would take effect from October 31.
Trade union confederation the TUC described the decision to remove the bonus cap as “indecent”.
“At a time when millions of people across the country are struggling to make ends meet, this is an insult to working people,” TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said in a statement.
(Additional reporting by David Milliken; Spanish editing by Carlos Serrano)
“Web specialist. Incurable twitteraholic. Explorer. Organizer. Internet nerd. Avid student.”
