Bank of England says review of banker bonus cap not a priority By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) -Reviewing the cap on banker bonuses is not a priority for the Bank of England as it decides whether to keep rules inherited from the European Union, a senior BoE official said on Monday.

The EU rules limits bonuses to no more than twice a banker’s fixed pay, and were introduced following taxpayer bailouts of banks in the 2008 global financial crisis.

Most of the European bankers hit by the rule work in London.

The BoE at the time objected to the rule, saying it could lead to banks ramping up fixed pay to get round the cap, saying there were other ways of curbing excessive payouts.

Leaving the EU’s full orbit last December means that Britain can ditch or change the rule.

“In the post-Brexit agenda at the moment we have other issues that we are prioritising,” Victoria Saporta, executive director of the BoE’s Prudential (LON:PRU) Regulation Authority, told parliament’s Treasury Select Committee.

Saporta said the BoE’s original arguments against the cap still stood.