‘Repugnant’ £4bn banker bonuses outrage unions

BONUSES at Britain’s biggest banks are set to return to prepandemic levels, with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Natwest expected to pay around £4billion to their staff.

Unions and campaigners against corporate excess say that the bonus bonanza is “repugnant” given that Britain is in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, with millions of Britons struggling in the wake of rising energy, fuel and food bills.

On Friday, Natwest said that it will pay its staff £298million in bonuses for their performance in 2021, compared to £207million the year before and £307million for 2019. It made a pre-tax profit of £4billion, versus a loss of £481million for 2020.

The economic recovery led to lower than expected credit losses, which allowed it to release £1.3billion of rainy day funds. It also benefited from cost cuts.

This week, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds will present their annual results and together with Natwest, they are expected to pay out £4billion in bonuses. For 2019, they awarded £4.2billion in bonuses, which fell to £3.2billion the following year.

GMB general secretary Gary Smith said: “Bankers trousering fortunes in bonuses while working people struggle to keep food on the table is repugnant.

“Essential workers are facing the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

“Meanwhile, the city’s top brass shower themselves with riches like something from The Wolf Of Wall Street.”

Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre think tank, said: “A handful of bankers raking in millions while the wider population feels the force of rising prices and wage stagnation shows we need to rethink the way our economy works.”

On Tuesday, analysts expect HSBC to say its profits rose from £6.4billion to £14.1billion.

The following day, Barclays is tipped to report its profits shot up 175 per cent to £8.4billion, while on Thursday, Lloyds’ profits are tipped to rise from £1.2billion to £7.6 billion.