Europe??s top regulator has urged banks to ??show moderation and responsibility? as they announce their annual bonus pools in coming weeks ?? and issued a thinly veiled threat of restrictions if they step out of line with current rules.
Michel Barnier, the European Union??s internal market commissioner who oversees financial services, said banks needed to act ??in a responsible and moderate fashion?.
??Banks in Europe would be well advised not to lose sight of the economy and society,? he warned. ??Banks need ... ethics, which would imply moderation in bonuses.?
Mr Barnier said Brussels would look for ??vigorous? implementation of restrictions on pay agreed by member states and parliamentarians last year.
Those rules require that between 40 and 60 per cent of bonuses be deferred for three to five years and that half the upfront bonus should be paid in shares or other securities linked to the bank??s performance.
The EU commissioner did not explicitly threaten any further rule-making on pay. But he did note that Brussels is still considering the whole area of corporate governance in the financial services sector.
