UK govt to take aim at bankers' bonuses

BRIGHTON, United Kingdom: British Treasury chief Alistair Darling said yesterday that automatic annual bonuses for banking executives will be outlawed in an attempt to curb excessive risk taking in the country's huge financial sector.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer told the governing Labour Party's annual conference that new legislation to scrap the payments will be put to Parliament within weeks.

Leaders of the G20 rich and developing countries agreed last week to limit executive bonuses, but didn't set specific caps. Darling said bankers in Britain will in future be offered bonuses for their performance over several years, rather than over 12 months.