Lunchtime Links: RBS will probably be allowed to pay around 50k a head

RBS has yet to make a decision on its final bonus pool (and apparently won't do so until January), but it appears to be succumbing to the government's call for extreme restraint.

According to the Financial Times, RBS insiders have been 'insisting' that payouts in global banking and markets will be at the "low, low end of the scale."

The Times reports that the British government may allow the bank a bonus pool of 1bn, in line with last year. This would amount to a little more than 50k a head across the investment bank.

However, one headhunter working for RBS reassures that top performers will still be paid handsomely. "Remember that a lot of people will get nothing and a lot others will get next to nothing. Those 50ks add to quite a big number for people who really produce."

He also points that the RBS vesting schedule (which results a 50% payout in year one) is generous compared to other banks. "It's not the best, but it's certainly at the upper end," he says.

200 executives at Lloyds, the partly state-owned bank, to receive payments worth up to 80% of salaries. (The Times)

Bailing out British banks cost 5,500 per family. (Telegraph)

Mr Darling needs to discover the equivalent of 100 new mega-bank tax streams to eliminate his budget deficit. (Telegraph)

Taxpayer support, which will be paid for in higher taxes for years to come, was designed to help banks, not bankers. The case for a windfall tax on bonuses is as simple as that. (Guardian)

BofA Securities raises $19.3bn. (Bloomberg)

U.S. taxpayers stand to make at least $2.5 billion on the government's $45 billion investment in Bank of America Corp. (Bloomberg)

Why the next banking crisis could be even worse. (MoneyWeek)

Senior executives at Goldman could be awarded ALL their bonuses in stock this year. (Financial Times)

How much should Goldman Sachs pay Lloyd Blankfein? (Reuters)

Barclays hires two senior bankers from Goldman Sachs. (DealBook)

Managing director of BGC Partners admits to going against letter of law in luring Tullett staff. (Telegraph)

GLG Partners appoints ex-Bank of England deputy governor as an advisor (Reuters)

Citigroup regularly changes how it reports earnings, splitting the company up in different ways in different years so as to make like-for-like comparisons impossible. (Felix Salmon)

The giant banks are manipulating their books to make themselves look profitable. (ZeroHedge)

Man cleavage is back. (Wall Street Journal)