U.K. bankers earning more than 1 million euros ($1.3 million) in 2010 and 2011 outnumbered all of their counterparts in the rest of the European Union put together, a new report showed, although the average pay of U.K. bankers fell.
The study by the European Banking Authority (EBA) revealed that the number of bank staff in the European Union who earned one million euros or more in total in 2010 and 2011 totaled 2,346 in the U.K., while in Germany – which came second in the rankings - only 170 bankers earned more than a million euros. The numbers of high earners in Spain (125), Italy (96) and the Netherlands (36) also lagged far behind the U.K.
The figures came after Dutch finance minister and head of the euro group of finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, pledged to crack down on financial sector bonuses in the Netherlands saying they jarred with "the spirit of the times."