Bankers dodge bonus restraints

Despite a fall in bonuses, City workers' pay still outstrips the rest of the country, and the research group CEBR suggests that banks are bypassing restrictions by paying higher base salaries.

Bonuses for 2010/11 fell by 8 per cent to £6.7bn, down from £7.3bn in the previous year – but average regular pay for City workers in the first quarter of 2011 is 7 per cent up on last year, against 2 per cent for the economy as a whole.