Britain To Keep Its Thoughts Re: Bonus Caps To Itself Moving Forward

Britain put in a good faith effort to challenge what it sees as unfair/unrealistic bonus rules from the EU but it's since been told to sit down and STFU, so: you're on your own.

Britain on Thursday dropped its challenge to the European bonus cap after an adviser to the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected all of the country’s claims. George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said in a letter to the governor of the Bank of England that the case faced “minimum prospects for success” and that the government would abandon its efforts. The Court of Justice opinion dealt a serious blow to British efforts to challenge the law, which limits bankers’ bonuses to the equivalent of their annual salaries, or to two times their base salaries if the company’s shareholders approve it. Even though the opinion was not final and had to be ruled on by the judges of Europe’s highest court, it forced Britain to scuttle its challenge. The bonus cap underscores the furor over banker pay in Europe, which is far greater and more apparent than in the United States. Both Britain and the United States have identified pay as a central factor to reckless risk-taking by bankers. But Europe, and, at the national level, Britain, have put in place far more rules on remuneration than the United States. Britain challenged the legal basis under which the bonus cap was passed, arguing that pay levels are part of social policy and thus under the authority of member states, not of the European Union.

Britain Drops Its Challenge to Cap on Banker Bonuses [Dealbook]