PM confirms tougher bonuses stance
By Peter Wozniak
David Cameron has confirmed he supports the tougher attitude to bank bonuses implied by the chancellor which could see the government intervene if banks fail to lend.
The culmination of the spate of recent anti-banker rhetoric comes on the day a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research thinktank said bonus payments this year – at £7 billion – were continuing to creep up to pre-financial crisis levels.
The prime minister told the BBC’s Breakfast programme: “I think the chancellor was pretty clear yesterday when he said if these people go on paying themselves big bonuses and not lending money to the small businesses that need to get our economy going, he won’t stand idly by.”
Mr Cameron also continued the theme of placing responsibility for the failure in financial regulation at the feet of the previous administration.
“People will be angry about this because people do see that the banks got out of control. That was part of the problem that contributed to our debts and our deficit, but the Labour government have a very big share of the responsibility too,” he added.
The coalition government has indicated a more stringent policy on banks, with attacks from Nick Clegg, Vince Cable and George Osborne.
The chancellor’s speech yesterday carried the first serious intimation that the government would take action against banks if they paid out bonuses whilst failing to lend to viable businesses.
The banks have proved a popular target for government rhetoric as the coalition prepares the ground for public anger over the impending spending review.
