Sir Mervyn King appeals to banks for fair pay and bonuses

Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King has made a fresh appeal for fairness in bankers’ pay and bonuses.

Sir Mervyn told MPs that banks would suffer damage to their reputations if big rewards were paid out at a time when their performance had “hardly been stellar”. His plea comes at a time when banks are finalising their bonus rounds ahead of announcing full-year results next month.

Sir Mervyn said: I think the reputation of those institutions, whose performance has hardly been stellar, will be affected by the pay of senior executives if they reward themselves with substantial compen-sation.”