The Department of Finance will reportedly make a formal decision on the prospect of restoring bonuses to top bankers at the country’s leading banks.
It is expected that the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe will give his formal decision on the matter in the coming weeks, after top executives at AIB and Bank of Ireland suggested that the re-intrdouction of bonuses for top executives should be reconsidered.
In a move which will most likely be met with a stern response from the Irish taxpayer, both AIB Group Plc and Bank of Ireland Group Plc have confirmed they will hold AGM’s with investors and shareholders in the coming weeks to discuss the idea.
Although it is expected that the Finance Minister will deny the request, bankers at the leading lenders say they are in favour of the re-intrdouction of bonuses.
The prospect of bonuses for top level executives will however put more pressure on the Government if they are re-introduced as the scrapping of bonuses almost a decade ago was made as part of a major financial bailout package.
Meanwhile if the bonuses were to be re-introduced the state would also have to reverse an existing law that would allow bankers to receive bonuses worth more than €20,000 without being taxed at the current rate of 89%.
It is believed that executives at both banks have called for the re-intrdouction of bonuses after the recent up-turn in the Irish economy has prompted more profitability for lenders.