Big U.K. banks appear to be paying out large bonuses this year despite the government’s efforts to rein them in. While banks have pledged to curb compensation packages, the commitments “could be more spin than substance,” one banker said. The Royal Bank of Scotland, for example, is paying out less than a third it did a year ago. Even while handing out smaller bonuses, base bank salaries are up, in some cases by 40%, as a result of new bonuses limits adopted last summer by the European Union.
