The political firefight over bank bonuses never seems to die down. This week’s spending cuts will provide the fuel for it to burst into flame again. I can just imagine Vince Cable, the business secretary, laying into the bankers early next year, when they are taking home big pay cheques and thousands of public sector workers are signing on.
There will be some bumper payouts — the war for talent never stops in the City — but the reality is that the investment banking money machine is looking quite shaky. This week Goldman Sachs will report that its third-quarter figures have declined about 40% year-on-year.
Activities that last year were generating staggering profits, like fixed-income trading, have slowed right down.
There are also signs that