AP/ January 23, 2010, 2:02 PM

U.K. Bank to Defer Bonuses up to 100%

Barclays is planning to defer bonuses for top earning staff in hope of quashing public outrage regarding pay for bankers, Britain's Financial Times reported Saturday.

The move comes amid popular anger over the disclosure that some of America's largest investment banks paid out whopping bonuses to top executives.

to recover money used to bail out troubled ones. He also has branded the latest round of bank bonuses as "obscene."

Barclays is Britain's biggest bank and one of the few to rebuff a taxpayer-funded bailout. It is free from the government imposed restrictions on payouts by rivals such as RBS and Lloyds which received government help, but has said it intends to honor an agreement reached last year among the Group of 20 rich and developing countries to limit bonuses.

Top Barclays executives will defer up to 100 percent of their bonuses for up to three years, the Financial Times reported.

Some 2,000 or so staff will have as much as 75 percent of their payouts deferred, while lower ranking staff would have as much as 50 percent deferred, the newspaper said.

The measures are due to be signed off on before Barclays full year results next month.

The bank declined to comment on the report.
© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
10 Comments Add a Comment
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noloyalisti says:
We can no longer depend on legislation to fix anything. I am not advocating the abandonment of political parties because we will still need some of the more progressive of them to lead the new order.

We must FORCE the big corporation/government cabal to again work for the common good of We the People. Today we will start on a plan to organize our local groups to take their money out of the big banks and open accounts at the local credit union.

We will have a very visible public celebration on that day and drink sparking cider while we wait in line to open the accounts.

I am hoping we can get local press coverage and will also inform our local state and federal representative via a press release. We will set up a table in front of the credit union on the main street and pass out copies of the press release. Finally we will notify other local groups via e-mail prior to the event.

Once we demonstrate this power we can Unite to Strike if necessary.
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RobAla says:
The UK can do whatever it wants; I am concerned more with the US. The banks are not our main problem, and they are not the "enemy of the people" (as the President implies). The banks have been faithfully paying back the bailout money (the auto industry and government run mortgage groups have not done so). The President wants to force the US banks not to pay bonuses, but it doesn?t bother him that Fannie Mae has given out bonuses. If the banks are paying the loans back, I don?t care about bonuses. If people are concerned, they should just join credit unions.

President Obama's main goal is to create a massive federal government, which will be designed to control the masses and place the American people in servitude to it. Health care was a means to put this in place. Remember, health insurance companies were made out to be the "enemy of the people" (through the average profit margin of health care providers is only about 2.2% - it the increasing cost of HC that really creates the problem). The majority of American public has made it clear that we do not want government run health care.

Now, President Obama has portrayed the banks as the "enemy of the people". Hitler made the Jews out to be the ?enemy of the people? in order to bring about his huge fascist government, which controlled the German people. President is not a NAZI, but he uses the same tactics common to dictators in obtaining a massive government to hold power over citizens. The banks are just another means to bring about more government control.

We now approach a $14.3 trillion national debt, and I want this federal government to be reduced to a manageable size. I do not want to pay the taxes required to sustain a massive federal government, and I do not wish to become a servant to it. Out main problem is the fact that Washington is out of control, in both corruption and by over spending. I do not look to the UK as a model.
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RobAla replies:
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I am replying to my own post to add a point:
In less than a year the banks have repaid $162 billion of the $245 billion borrowed.
CBS News: 12/25/2009:
"Fannie's CEO, Michael Williams, and Freddie CEO Charles "Ed" Haldeman Jr. each will receive $900,000 in salary, $3.1 million in deferred payments next year and another $2 million if they meet certain performance goals, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission."
"The Treasury Department said Thursday it removed the $400 billion financial cap on the money it will provide to keep the companies afloat. Already, taxpayers have shelled out $111 billion to the pair, and a senior Treasury official said losses are not expected to exceed the government's estimate this summer of $170 billion over 10 years."
So who is costing the taxpayers money ? the banks? Fannie Mae has taken bailout money, they are not paying it back, they are saying they need more, and they are paying out bonuses. Now, who is taking money from the taxpayer? This is all about politics and bringing about a massive government.
Which groups are not paying back the money? Not the banks, they are doing a very good job of repaying the funds.

The President is now demanding more money from the banks (who mostly did not support him politically) in fees (taxes), but not demanding more from the auto industry (unions who supported him politically) and the government loan agencies. To tax political opponents and to not tax political supporters, is a form of political corruptio
noloyalisti replies:
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Yes, the banksters are the problem. Over 25% of all corporate profits come from the banking industry.

The main problem is the big corporations who now own and run the government for their own profit. They only understand force and We the People can provide that.
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proudmilvet says:
Also, if you agree with any of this, you will be labeled by the Republican Party as being unpatriotic & an Evil Socialist!
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proudmilvet says:
This corporate crap all started under Reagan. Sadly the end result is that America is now completely owned & operated by big business & the CEO's that control it. If anyone is waiting for any American Bank to emulate Barclays, be prepared to wait until Hell freezes over!
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rightbehind says:
There shouldn't be any bonuses at all. They need to drag the hedge fund dealers out in leg irons and we need to know who got the derivatives.
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bill0bob says:
"Defer" is what Haliburton did with Cheney's huge salary while he was VP. He got his $$$ later. All that time he was in office, he was working for Haliburton, not for the USA.

Normal people, those who actually work for a living, rather than just figure out ways to steal more money from the less fortunate, get paid or they get fired. They don't receive "deferred" pay or bonuses.

How stupid do the banks think we are?
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curse914 replies:
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Since no regulations have been put back in place and deregulation has spanned nearly 30 years, it would appear the banks are in charge.
wjksea replies:
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The people sadly have been asleep for decades. I fear many don't get how they've been played. We are no longer really a democratic republic and now the supreme court has possibly insured there will never be an election where true grass roots out of hope and reinvigorated belief in our system got out to vote for their interests. Our supreme court is clearly comprised of anti-democratic individuals.