The City is set for a 50% surge in annual bonuses as bank profits make a swift recovery, a leading research group has claimed.Bankers will pay themselves an extra £2bn.
The sharp rise is said to be a result of better-than-expected second- and third-quarter figures from the banking industry.
As such, bonuses are set to leap from the £4bn seen in January's annual bonus round, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said.
The forecast has angered many who feel the swift recovery is down to the large sums of public money lent to stabilise the financial sector. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said the big increase did not reflect the contribution made by bankers to the economy.
He said: "These bonuses are coming from the fact that banks are earning money from substantial Government borrowing and are able to earn bigger profits because there is less competition.