Greed sparked financial crisis

SKY-HIGH pay and a cut-throat culture at big banks triggered the financial crisis that almost destroyed Western capitalism, the City’s top regulator has said.

Andrew Bailey, head of the Financial Conduct Authority, yesterday took aim at the massive payouts that senior bankers enjoyed in the run-up to disaster a decade ago.

He said that in the 1980s, pay soared as shameless bosses shed previous generations’ reticence about earning far more than staff.

Speaking at an FCA conference on behaviour at finance firms, Bailey said the bonus schemes rewarded short-term risk-taking and led to mis- selling scandals. He added: ‘The culture towards the public interest and ethical custom were essentially permissive, to the point of anything goes.’