Fat-cat fatigue is hitting new highs in Britain. Having just bailed out a number of the country's banks, taxpayers are up in arms over the sums of money expected to flow to bankers as the City enters bonus season.
Underscoring this discontent is tabloid-fuelled discontent with executive excesses. As the British economy heads towards recession and the financial crisis shatters confidence, the public is baying for blood. Bonus-flush bankers are an easy target.
Yet despite promises of a government clampdown on executive exuberance, few expect the bonus culture in Britain to disappear. What may emerge is a more risk-averse approach to discretionary perks, one that adopts a longer-term view.
However, the days of the seven-digit bonus appear far from over.
The cost of the financial crisis to British taxpayers has been substantial. In mid-October, the government announced an injection of more than GBP40 billion (HK$457.5 billion) into the country's high street lenders.
Majority stakes were taken in the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS and smaller stakes in Barclays and Lloyds TSB.
The thought of bankers reaping substantial rewards in a year during which banks have declined in value or collapsed has been hard for many to swallow.
