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Cameron says banks 'should pay smaller bonuses' | Cameron says banks 'should pay smaller bonuses' |
(40 minutes later) | |
Prime Minister David Cameron has called on banks to pay smaller bonuses this year. | Prime Minister David Cameron has called on banks to pay smaller bonuses this year. |
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show he said banks should be more "socially responsible". | Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show he said banks should be more "socially responsible". |
He said that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is majority-owned by the taxpayer, should not be "leading the way" on bonuses but should be a "back marker". | He said that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is majority-owned by the taxpayer, should not be "leading the way" on bonuses but should be a "back marker". |
But he also said that "micro-managing" the banks was not the answer. | |
There have been unconfirmed reports that RBS's chief executive, Stephen Hester, is to get a substantial bonus for his work in 2010. | |
The Sunday Telegraph reports that RBS's board is poised to award Mr Hester a cash-and-shares bonus of £2.5m at their meeting next month. | The Sunday Telegraph reports that RBS's board is poised to award Mr Hester a cash-and-shares bonus of £2.5m at their meeting next month. |
But Mr Cameron said the details of Mr Hester's pay packet was "pure speculation". | But Mr Cameron said the details of Mr Hester's pay packet was "pure speculation". |
He warned against "banker-bashing", saying that it was too easy to make banks the "scapegoats" for the recession. | |
Mr Cameron did say that the banks needed to do more to increase their lending. | |
He said: What I want to see is socially responsible banks behaving responsibly, and proper agreements on lending to businesses, large and small." | He said: What I want to see is socially responsible banks behaving responsibly, and proper agreements on lending to businesses, large and small." |
He defended his government's action on banks, saying that his was one the first governments in the world to introduce a banking levy. |