November 13, 2009

Banks have still failed to grasp the need to reform their bonus culture, but Britain is unwilling to legislate to force them to take action, Chancellor Alistair Darling said in a newspaper interview on Friday.Speaking to the Wall Street Journal's European edition, Darling said many banking executives appear to have forgotten that public money bailed out large parts of their industry."The mentality in the boardroom seems to ignore the fact everybody else in the country has helped them out," Darling was quoted as saying.

"There are far too many people in the banking world who haven't caught the change in sentiment. There has to be a change in culture."The question of bankers' bonuses has triggered a political and public outcry in Britain and around the world and prompted calls for tougher curbs on their pay packages.Despite the state aid that rescued parts of the banking industry, Darling said some bank bosses had sought a return to pre-crisis bonus pools.