Barclays pays bonuses amid anger (From Bridgwater Mercury)

Barclays pays bonuses amid anger

10:43am Friday 10th February 2012 in National News © Press Association 2011

Barclays has handed out £1.5 billion in bonuses to investment bankers for last year, although the lender slashed the pot by 32% amid mounting pressure over the controversial payouts.

Providing more disclosure on bonuses in its annual results than ever before, the bank said the average bonus for staff at investment arm Barclays Capital was cut by 30% to £64,000 in 2011 while the the group total bonus pool was down 25% at £2.2 billion.

However, chief executive Bob Diamond refused to be drawn on questions about his own bonus, amid reports he could be in line to receive more than £10 million in payouts.

Addressing the wider issue of bonuses, the American banker said: "We need to balance remaining competitive with being responsive to the public mood."

But the bank's moves to cap and slash bonuses were not enough to appease unions and anti-poverty campaigners as "serious questions exist about the moral backbone of those running the financial service sector".

The results come after weeks of conflict over bankers' bonuses, in which Royal Bank of Scotland chief Stephen Hester turned down his £963,000 bonus amid mounting pressure and Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio waived his payout following a leave of absence.

Elsewhere, Barclays, which reported pre-tax profits of £5.9 billion for 2011, down 3% on the previous year, said it introduced a cap on the cash part of bonuses for investment bankers at £65,000.

The results said annual incentives for executive directors and the eight highest paid senior executive officers were down 48% compared to 2010 on a like-for-like basis, though Mr Diamond would not confirm how his own pay fitted into this decline.

Those hoping for a peek at Mr Diamond's pay packet will have to wait until the annual report is published in mid-March. Mr Diamond said the mood surrounding the industry was not positive but the private sector would only deliver much-needed growth to the wider economy with a "confident" banking sector.

David Fleming, Unite national officer, said: "The announcement on bonuses today by Barclays is yet another illustration of the banking sector continuing to ignore the public outrage and disgust at their behaviour."