Bank execs ask for government help to curb bonuses

LONDON Feb 3 (Reuters) - Bank executives are pushing western governments to co-ordinate a clampdown on bonuses to protect them from antitrust problems and ensure a level pay playing field for the industry.

Two chairmen of leading global banks said independently they had asked the U.S. and UK governments to help them control bankers' pay as the financial industry seeks to avoid a further political backlash triggered by high compensation levels.

The chairman of a leading Wall Street bank said he had told President Barack Obama that he should organise an industry-wide crackdown on pay. The chairman of a top UK bank told Reuters Breakingviews that he had urged the British government to take a similar line to control bankers' pay.

Both chairmen, who were speaking on condition of anonymity, said government intervention was required because no bank could afford to take unilateral action to crack down on compensation out of fear that its best people would be poached by rivals that did not follow suit. They also said that they could not coordinate controls on pay themselves as this would flout antitrust laws.

Their pleas come amid mounting political hostility to the banking industry, largely triggered by hefty bonus payments made by U.S. and European investment banks. The bonuses have been triggered by a strong rebound in bank profits in 2009, helped by the unprecedented levels of support offered by governments and central banks.

Some banks have responded by paying their employees a lower proportion of income than in the past. Last month Goldman Sachs (GS.N), the U.S. investment bank, said it would pay out 35.8 percent of its 2009 revenues in compensation and benefits, down from 48 percent in 2008 and the lowest proportion since the bank went public in 1999.

However, the bank still paid out $16.2 billion in compensation and benefits, 48 per cent higher than in 2008.

Several investment banks, including Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) and Goldman Sachs, have also responded to the UK bonus tax by reducing payouts to senior bankers based in London.

The bank chairmen said lower pay levels would help the industry repair its tarnished image and minimise the current political backlash against financiers. (Editing by Andrew Callus)