Tweet
17 January 2011
Last updated at 17:14 ET
Large numbers of bankers are paid more than they are worth, the chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland has conceded.
Sir Philip Hampton told the BBC that too many average investment bankers were getting above average pay.
"The star quality, as it were, seems to filter down to people who don't seem so star quality," he said.
Sir Philip was interviewed for a documentary, Britain's Banks: Too Big to Save?, to be broadcast on BBC2 at 2100 GMT on Tuesday.
He told the BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, that investment banking had some really high achievers, people "who really do make a difference".
But they were surrounded by people who were not such stars.
"And the disparities between the top stars in the team and some of the journeymen players, if you like, is probably not as marked as it should be," Sir Philip said.
Sir Philip's comments come as the big banks decide how much to pay out in bonuses for performance in 2010.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband have traded blows over reports that the government has accepted that it can do little to rein in bankers' pay and bonuses.
This is despite the bank bail-out and the government taking direct stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and RBS.
Webmaster Forum | SEO Forum | Coding Forum | Graphics Forum</b>
Sir Philip Hampton told the BBC that too many average investment bankers were getting above average pay.
"The star quality, as it were, seems to filter down to people who don't seem so star quality," he said.
Sir Philip was interviewed for a documentary, Britain's Banks: Too Big to Save?, to be broadcast on BBC2 at 2100 GMT on Tuesday.
He told the BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, that investment banking had some really high achievers, people "who really do make a difference".
But they were surrounded by people who were not such stars.
"And the disparities between the top stars in the team and some of the journeymen players, if you like, is probably not as marked as it should be," Sir Philip said.
Sir Philip's comments come as the big banks decide how much to pay out in bonuses for performance in 2010.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband have traded blows over reports that the government has accepted that it can do little to rein in bankers' pay and bonuses.
This is despite the bank bail-out and the government taking direct stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and RBS.
Webmaster Forum | SEO Forum | Coding Forum | Graphics Forum</b>