Mortgage News
Irish govt bans Allied Irish Banks €40m bonuses
The Irish government has banned Allied Irish Banks from handing out €40m to staff in bonuses, saying it would turn off state aid if the pay-outs went ahead.
Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan said state aid was “conditional on the non-payment of bonuses awarded, no matter when they may have been earned”, the Telegraph reports.
Allied Irish had argued it was legally required to pay bonuses to bankers for work done during 2008, in the lead-up to the banking crisis.
In November, it lost a case brought by a former banker, John Foy, who had sought a bonus of €160,000 based on his 2008 performance.
However, Allied reconsidered its position following a letter from the Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan.
Lenihan, who is pushing for a 90% tax on future bank staff bonuses, warned state aid was “conditional on the non-payment of bonuses awarded, no matter when they may have been earned”.
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The UK government has faced criticism for failing to demand a curbing of bonus payouts at majority state-owned banks RBS and Lloyds.
Nearly 17,000 staff at RBS’ investment bank shared a £1.3bn windfall in February, with at least 100 pocketing bonuses of more than £1m.