As the UK economy is battering most people, as bankers are making more money than ever.
It comes as the latest City AM Freshwater Strategy poll showing little hope for the near future for a lot of the UK population.
The survey found nearly one in five voters, 18%, could not pay an unexpected £500 bill, categorising them as in “high financial stress”.
Also, 35% said their finances were troubled or impacted, compared to 30& who said they were comfortable or confident.
Meanwhile, 33% said they were “just about managing” regarding budgeting and spending each month.
Bankers bonuses
Meanwhile, bankers’ bonuses are higher than ever, as UK banker bonus cap has now been scrapped.
One HSBC banker was paid up to £16.6m in 2024 while figure at Barclays was £14.8m after loosening of pay rules.
From 2014 to 2023, banker bonuses were limited to two times salary as part of rules introduced after the 2007-8 financial crisis. Failed Tory chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng eventually used post-Brexit rules to call for the banker bonus cap to be scrapped in 2022
However, documents, recently released, reveal payouts for their most expensive staff surged more than 50% to nearly €20m (£16.6m) last year.
The banks have taken advantage of looser pay rules and allowed staff to be paid bonuses worth 10 times their salary.
The number of bankers being paid more than €1m at Barclays jumped from 668 in 2023 to 762 in 2024. At HSBC, 517 of its bankers were paid more than €1m in 2024, up from 512 a year earlier.
You think this is excessive? Well, Goldman Sachs has set one of the highest caps, allowing its star performers in the UK to be paid up to 25 times their annual salary.
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The numbers don’t lie…
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