Barclays’ warning to regulators over bonuses

Barclays chairman Marcus Agius has warned UK regulators that they cannot afford to be tougher on banks than financial authorities in other countries such as the United States.

Within a day of reports that Barclays will make more than £10 billion in profits this year, triggering millions of pounds of bonus payouts, Agius warned that international rules on deferring bonuses for between three and five years were open to different interpretation.

"The same principles will apply in different ways in different capital markets with different outcomes," Agius said.

"This is a global financial system. So I am very concerned that there should be a level playing field."

His remarks follow a weekend of growing tension between politicians and bankers with Prime Minister Gordon Brown telling banks they must put lending to businesses and home buyers before "making huge payouts".

Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 70% owned by the taxpayer, was forced to issue a denial that it has already agreed to pay bonuses of between £1 million and £5 million each to the top 20 staff in its investment banking business.

It said the reports that it could pay a total of £4 billion in bonuses were "totally without foundation" and that no bonus decision would be taken until the end of the year.

Banks are also railing against suggestion that they could face some kind of windfall tax in Chancellor Alistair Darling's Pre-Budget statement next month.

Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association, said that a blanket tax across the industry would be unfair on those banks which had not turned to the Government for a bailout.