Bankers bonuses - Osborne Stands Alone

[andygardener]

I know which encourages people to take the greatest risks, almost sinking the economy in the process. You only have to look back 5 years to know this. Are peoples' memories really that short?

 

Preventing excessive risk taking is down to a combination of regulation and proper management supervision of bankers. However within authorised trading bands are clearly still needs to be a performance incentive and an arbitrary cap of 100% of basic salary is not helpful. Bear in mind this isn't just about currency traders and casino bankers, there are fund managers who built up very detailed knowledge of the companies they are investing in and the difference between the likes of Warren Buffett and some useless spiv is huge. Some bankers were useless does not equal all bankers are useless.

[gnvqsos]

I dont think Buffet is a banker,except in rhyming.

[TeaFan]

Preventing excessive risk taking is down to a combination of regulation and proper management supervision of bankers. However within authorised trading bands are clearly still needs to be a performance incentive and an arbitrary cap of 100% of basic salary is not helpful. Bear in mind this isn't just about currency traders and casino bankers, there are fund managers who built up very detailed knowledge of the companies they are investing in and the difference between the likes of Warren Buffett and some useless spiv is huge. Some bankers were useless does not equal all bankers are useless.

 

Prior to the crash, banker bonuses were contributing to retail price inflation, to house price and rental inflation in London and the south east and were contributing to growing financial inequality in the UK which in turn has negative social consequences. The bonus culture was out of control, I think you will find yourself in a minority of people who don't think it was.

[Uptowngirl]

Prior to the crash, banker bonuses were contributing to retail price inflation, to house price and rental inflation in London and the south east and were contributing to growing financial inequality in the UK which in turn has negative social consequences. The bonus culture was out of control, I think you will find yourself in a minority of people who don't think it was.

 

That's as maybe but they were also contributing £billions to the treasury. Many of the funds that these guys were managing had assets of over £10 billion. All of which was taxed in the UK. There is absolutely nothing to keep these funds based in the UK. Do you think the majority of folk also want to kiss goodbye to 10% of our taxation revenue?

[LeMaquis]

That's as maybe but they were also contributing £billions to the treasury. Many of the funds that these guys were managing had assets of over £10 billion. All of which was taxed in the UK. There is absolutely nothing to keep these funds based in the UK. Do you think the majority of folk also want to kiss goodbye to 10% of our taxation revenue?

 

And the Treasury contributed billions to them when it all got out of control in 2007-8. Where are they all going to go? They can't all emigrate to New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong?

[TeaFan]

That's as maybe but they were also contributing £billions to the treasury. Many of the funds that these guys were managing had assets of over £10 billion. All of which was taxed in the UK. There is absolutely nothing to keep these funds based in the UK. Do you think the majority of folk also want to kiss goodbye to 10% of our taxation revenue?

 

I'm not sure about a majority but it feels like increasing numbers want a system built on a lot more than IOUs and fictitious IOUs (often bundled up with other fictitious IOUs, paid for with IOUs in the hope that they can generate further IOUs which can then be used to create more fictitious IOUs). All incentivised by the promise of lots of lovely IOUs, of course.

 

Go back 10 years and the banks were telling the government and the public that they knew what they were doing and didn't need more regulation. Then they essentially ate themselves and were only saved by various governments tickling their tonsils with our money. And where are we now, in the middle of austerity? Banks telling us that they know what they are doing and they don't need more regulation. I can't say I'm surprised, hardly anyone learned the lessons of the property bubble before the most recent one, so it happened again.

 

Me, I've already started saving for the next crash to be brought on by the people who tell us that they are indispensable and know exactly what they are doing.

[andygardener]

Prior to the crash, banker bonuses were contributing to retail price inflation, to house price and rental inflation in London and the south east and were contributing to growing financial inequality in the UK which in turn has negative social consequences. The bonus culture was out of control, I think you will find yourself in a minority of people who don't think it was.

 

There was a failure of regulation and management control. I've been paid very nicely for making less than 5 million a year for former employers, why would Someone making billions expect a massively less generous cut?

[TeaFan]

There was a failure of regulation and management control. I've been paid very nicely for making less than 5 million a year for former employers, why would Someone making billions expect a massively less generous cut?

 

To be honest I don't care much for what these people expect. They seem to be amoral, motivated only by money, regardless of the impact of their actions on global food prices, wars, famines, inequality and all the rest.

[taxman]

There was a failure of regulation and management control. I've been paid very nicely for making less than 5 million a year for former employers, why would Someone making billions expect a massively less generous cut?

 

But in the past massive bonuses have been paid to people who lost money, they didn't make it.

 

Bonuses should reward success, not failure. I've no problem whatsoever with high performers receiving whatever bonus their employer chooses to give them but after the banking collapse people who failed on an epic scale were rewarded.

[tinfoilhat]

But in the past massive bonuses have been paid to people who lost money, they didn't make it.

 

Bonuses should reward success, not failure. I've no problem whatsoever with high performers receiving whatever bonus their employer chooses to give them but after the banking collapse people who failed on an epic scale were rewarded.

 

Correctamundo. If someone can explain why bankers got fat bonuses after losing billions and can confirm that won't happen again I've no problem if they make millions if they erm, make millions.