Lunchtime Links: Remember that tax efficient bonus from 2005? You may have to pay it back

Given that bonuses this year will probably be down (unless you have the good fortune to work at BarCap or UBS), and given that a higher proportion of said bonuses will be paid in stock that's inaccessible for at least a year, this is not the best of times to be obliged to pay retrospective tax bills on compensation from the good old days pre-2007.

Unfortunately, this may be about to happen.

The UK government has made no secret of its intention to crack down on tax evasion. While budgets are being mangled everywhere else, it's spending an additional

900m on unearthing tax evaders and obliging banks to sign up to a new code of practice on tax avoidance.

Coupled with a law dating back to 2004, which states that all new ideas for avoiding income tax must be disclosed to HMRC within five days and that the government has the right to recoup unpaid taxes in perpetuity, this looks bad for anyone who's ever had their tax bill mitigated by an avoidance scheme.

The Sunday Times reports that people at UBS are already suffering. UBS is reportedly being obliged to repay more than 50m to the UK taxman after HMRC unearthed a scheme dating back to 2003. That scheme allowed anyone with a bonus worth more than 20k to have it paid through an offshore trust based in Jersey.

UBS is apparently expected to claw back the tax payments from the bankers concerned.

Bank of America might be paying a higher portion of its bonuses in stock if it can't meet its asset sale targets. (Bloomberg)

Fidelity doesn't like the UK any more and has decided to cut its UK staff by 500 to 1,500 over the next five years. (Financial News)

Gartmore might be putting itself up for sale and 50 of its 350 staff could lose their jobs soon. (Evening Standard)

Deloitte wants to hire 200 strategy consultants in the UK so that it can be like McKinsey. (The Times)

Salaries for senior risk officers have doubled. (Financial News)

Recruitment firm Astbury Marsden thinks there were 5,231 jobs (precisely) created in London last month and that 13% of them were in compliance. (Bloomberg)

RBC has hired Mark Preston, one of the City's great dealmakers. (Telegraph)

RBC wants to quadruple the number of relationship managers it employs in Asia. (Bloomberg)

George Soros has just opened an office in Hong Kong. (WSJ)

Private bankers in Asia are being trained in leafy mansions. (BusinessTimes)

More than 100,000 skilled workers and overseas students who come to Britain each year will lose the right to permanent settlement. (New Statesman)

Guy Hands: a cherubic nursery teacher's son who battled dyslexia. (Financial Times)

Which bank will want to work with Terra Firma now? (Financial Times)

If Dimon is successful, he will create a bank that is not just too big to fail, but too global to fail. (Business Insider)

Why high speed traders should set up in Siberia. (FastCompany)