Fall in EU’s €1m bankers

The number of bankers earning €1m a year or more in the EU has started to fall even before the impact of a cap on bonus payments is fully felt, the bloc’s banking watchdog said yesterday.

There were 3,178 bankers in the EU on at least €1m a year, including bonuses, in 2013, down from 3,530 a year earlier, although that was partly due to exchange rates as two-thirds are based in London, the European Banking Authority (EBA) said.

It said its next set of figures for 2014, due to be published at the end of this year, will show a drop in the average ratio of bonuses to fixed pay, highlighting the “full impact” of the EU’s new bonus cap.