'HK may replace London' in 2015 (2)

Shareholder activist group Hermes Equity Ownership Services has called on the industry to base bonus payouts on a performance period of three to five years, rather than annual performance, echoing earlier proposals on how payouts should be calculated.

Earlier this year several banks, including Barclays, were hit by a bigger than usual backlash from shareholders over pay when they sought approval for payout plans.

In a separate study, the CEBR also forecast that Hong Kong would overtake London as the world's biggest international financial center in 2015, as Asian markets grow.

Hong Kong employed less than half as many people in financial services than London in 2005, but job numbers in the Asian hub will have grown by almost 100,000 in the next three years.

Hong Kong has gained ground primarily because of more dynamic growth in Asian economies, the CEBR said, while the growing use of China's renminbi as a currency worldwide will also boost it as a center.