**Several European finance leaders have been outlining their goal to end the culture of excessive banker bonuses.**The issue will be discussed by G20 finance ministers this weekend and will also feature in the full G20 meeting in Pittsburgh later this month.
But observers say it is not an issue on which consensus will be easily reached.
The UK is an opponent of major curbs on bonuses, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown preferring they be geared towards long-term success.
Status protection
France is proposing a series of mandatory caps on bonuses - which the head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker, said he “totally supported”.
However, it has been acknowledged that the UK must be persuaded to give its support if French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s desire to push through strong G20 regulation on the issue is to succeed in Pittsburgh.
“The bankers are partying like it’s 1999, and it’s 2009”
Anders Borg
Swedish finance minister
Gordon Brown is not in favour of the French proposals. Earlier this week, he told the Financial Times that, while he accepted the City had “overheated”, said. it was important to protect London’s status as a world financial hub.
In comments ahead of the finance ministers meeting, being held in London, Sweden’s Anders Borg said it was “very important that we as politicians give a clear message that old bonuses must come to an end”.
“The bankers are partying like it’s 1999, and it’s 2009. The bonus culture must come to an end and it must come to an end in Pittsburgh,” he said, calling for finance ministers to have a “common message” on bonuses.
Dutch finance minister Wouter Bos said that “not every country is moving as quickly as it could” on the issue of banker payouts.
And Belgian finance minister Didier Reynders said governments should be able to “intervene” in bonuses, and that EU countries should act together, as well as trying to get agreement from the US and others.