John Walsh: Extortionate levels of bankers’ pay will cost us in the long run

Inflated salaries for investment bankers lures talent from sectors that offer wider societal benefit, as well as creating the conditions for the emergence of the next ‘risk-free’ financial scheme to firebomb the global economy

‘AIB, which is constrained by government imposed pay caps, posted a very impressive 32 per cent increase in its share price last year. Goldman Sachs, which has no such pay constraints, posted a much more pedestrian 20 per cent increase in the same time frame.’

When the salaries paid to bankers become disconnected from the underlying economy, it is time for the rest of us to start worrying.

Last week, Patrick Jenkins, the banking editor of the Financial Times, wrote a piece comparing the fortunes of AIB and Goldman Sachs. He made the interesting point that AIB, which is constrained by government-imposed pay caps and is 71 per cent state-owned, posted a very impressive 32 per cent increase in its ...