Banks still fail to disclose bonus details, says report

The majority of banks are still failing to disclose full details of their bonus pools, according to a report published yesterday.

The report – Compensation Reform in Wholesale Banking 2010 – surveyed 37 of the world's biggest banks and found fewer than half published information on the size of bonus pools and on the methodology for determining individual compensation for highly paid employees.

The research – which was compiled by the management consultancy Oliver Wyman in conjunction with the Institute of International Finance (IIF) – highlighted what it said was "a significant majority" of major banking institutions falling short of disclosure guidelines published by the international Financial Stability Board.

While it said that progress has been made at making bonuses more reflective of "risk-adjusted" profits, the report insisted more still needed to be done and gave warning that there would need to be a "multi-year effort" by banks, which have been sharply criticised for indulging in "casino capitalism" before the financial crisis.

Charles Dallara, the IIF's managing director, said the report was "encouraging" overall, but added: "It shows there are remaining challenges. For its part, the industry needs to continue its efforts to resolve outstanding technical and managerial compensation challenges in order to reduce excessive risk taking."

He also repeated a call for there to be "consistency" in international regulation.