Mandelson attacks big payments at Barclays

Published on Saturday 3 April 2010 20:17

LORD Mandelson has launched an attack on one of Britain's richest bankers.

The Business Secretary yesterday branded Barclays Capital president Bob Diamond "the unacceptable face of banking", saying he had earned tens of millions by "deal-making and shuffling paper around".

Labour also stepped up its pre-election sparring over the economy, with the former paymaster general Geoffrey Robinson describing a sense of "moral dismay" among voters at banks continuing to pay massive bonuses to executives.

Mandelson said: "If you look at Bob Diamond, who took 63 million in pay – that to me is the unacceptable face of banking.

"He hasn't earned that money, he's taken 63m not by building business or adding value or creating long-term economic strength, he has done so by deal-making and shuffling paper around."

Barclays has previously denied claims that Diamond was paid 63m.

The minister went on say that his wealth "doesn't mean to say different standards of morality apply".

Asked about Mandelson's comments, Robinson told BBC Radio 4: "I do think there is a sense of moral dismay in the country as a whole that these banks – all of them, one way or another that are in the position they are in thanks to the action taken directly or indirectly by the government – are seeing these huge bonuses paid.

"I think we would all make an appeal to them to have a proper respect for public opinion.

"I think the whole country feels this. They are going through a tough time and it is not going to get any easier and it could get tougher and we have certain sectors which are doing extremely well – the top end of most businesses and the banks quite egregiously so.

"I think that they have got to realise that there is a nation here that has a national problem and they should play their proper part in resolving it."

Diamond, 58, is the No 2 at the bank and head of its highly profitable investment bank. It was disclosed last month he will bag another 6m should his bank hit targets over the next three years.