Banking: Bonuses

Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville Excerpts

Monday 1st November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, that is precisely why we want to make sure that there is a better alignment between the way that remuneration is paid and the mitigation of risk that should be there. It is precisely to get a better alignment with the risks that are incurred that we are supporting the measures that are being taken globally—limiting the amount of bonus taken up front in cash and deferring a significant proportion of bonuses in line with the proposals of the G20.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

My Lords, can my noble friend remind me which Administration were in power when this problem developed?

[Lord Sassoon]

My noble friend is completely right that this problem arose under the watch of the last Administration, who implemented a one-off bonus tax that is now widely regarded to have been a failure—so we have to take the time to find a better way of dealing with this in the medium term.