Bonus Caps Stop Traders Gambling Public Money: Sharon Bowles

One of the most disturbing aspects of the financial crisis was the extent to which risk was fuelled by hugely disproportionate bonuses. For the ordinary taxpayer who ended up footing the bill for bailing out the banks, the zeros on the end of a banker’s bonus check were unfathomable.

The case of former Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Fred Goodwin exemplified the justifiable public anger aimed at executives and directors who had run amok with their savings and encouraged them to take on extortionate debt, yet then walked away with public money flowing out of their back pocket.