My 750 bonus has been deferred over three years

One consequence of today's Walker report is that banks will be required to reveal the number of employees on their books who earn more than 1m. According to some estimates, this figure is around 1,000 in the City of London. Cue your average Sun/Daily Mail reader foaming at the mouth, just waiting for another opportunity to batter greedy bankers again.

But, I hope my story will provide something of a reality check for the general public. Without giving too much away, I work in a retail business development role within one of the large UK banks that have received substantial amounts of government aid.

I'm based in London, earn a decent wage, and my bonus has typically been an early double-figure percentage of my salary - a nice little New Year sweetener, rather than an opportunity to buy beachfront property.

I'm in the privileged position of already knowing what my 2009 bonus is going to be. This year, it's substantially smaller (do you hear that tub-thumpers?), and comes in at a paltry 750.

The announcement was delivered with little ceremony - my manager simply beckoned me into a meeting room and pushed an envelope across the table. He insisted on the meeting room for the simple reason that he had to explain the bank's new bonus policy.

Of the 750, half will be paid in 2010, followed by two 25% instalments over the course of the next two years. So, to save you the trouble of a little mental arithmetic, my 'bumper' bonus will be 375, then two further payments of 187.50.

Crack open the Champagne. Actually, better make that Cava. In truth, even that could be a stretch - how much is Babycham these days?

I haven't decided what to spend it on, but am tossing up between an iPod (nano) or getting in my girlfriend's good books by taking her out for a slap-up meal. Maybe I'll invest it.

I highlight this not to gripe (though there is a fair amount of bitterness on this page, I admit), but to show that for every high-rolling investment banker earning more in one year than some receive in a lifetime, there are hundreds of me.