Simon English: Bankers could put the boot into FSA bonuses

Outlook Will the 4000 staff at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) be getting a bonus this year? If so, for what? All the financial crises their excellent oversight prevented?

The man at the FSA notes that if staff meet "benchmarks" they will be "entitled to incentives".

"We have to compete with the financial services industry for the best people," says the FSA, sounding wearily like a bank.

"No decisions relating to performance-related pay have been decided for this year and will be subject to appraisals being completed and approved by the remuneration committee of the board."

You have to do a course to learn to talk like that.

Anyway. There's probably plenty of people at the watchdog as deserving of a bonus as anyone in the City (insert joke here).

And the FSA is funded by the industry rather than directly by the taxpayer, so we needn't get particularly cross in any case.

Still, a banker that fancies being mischievous might want to start lobbying. I gave my bonus back, Stephen Hester could say, those idiots that totally failed to stop Royal Bank of Scotland from buying ABN Amro should do the same.

s.english@independent.co.uk