Osborne: 'Nothing off the table' over bank bonuses

Answering an urgent question from his shadow chancellor Alan Johnson, Osborne robustly defended the steps the coalition has taken so far to prevent major institutions from paying out large bonuses. He explained the new code of practice, which came into effect at the beginning of the month, ensures 50% of bonuses are paid in shares or other non-cash instruments, while guaranteed bonuses now only permissible under exceptional circumstances. Urging banks to be "responsible" over remuneration, he said: "If the banks cannot commit to that, I have made it clear to them that nothing is off t...