Questioning the compensation carrot

Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have demanded that bank compensation packages are adjusted for risk. A variety of proposals have been released by individual supervisors, but they are simpler – and in some cases, more draconian – than many were expecting.

Not since the late-fourteenth century has so much public vitriol been directed at the power brokers of the City of London. Today, however, rather than anger over the inequities of feudalism, the populace is enraged about bankers and bonuses.

Reports emerged in early December that the directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) were threatening to resign en masse if the UK government blocked plans to award £1.5 billion in bonuses to investment banking staff – reigniting public anger on the