Lunchtime Links: The 90% bonus tax lives

It's happened. Following the furore after we divulged that AIB was planning to pay bonuses it had withheld since 2008, the Irish government has succumbed to pressure and is again planning to tax all bonuses at banks in receipt of government support at a rate of 90%.

Earlier this week the Irish bonus tax proposals were

shelved in order to pass the finance bill quickly. However, as of yesterday the Guardian says they've been revived.

This isn't the first time a 90% bonus tax has been floated. In early 2009, US Congressmen proposed a 90% tax on bonuses at banks receiving TARP payments. In 2010, US senators proposed a 50% tax on bonuses at TARP houses. Neither came to anything.

If, as now seems likely, the 90% tax goes ahead in Ireland, it could set an unfortunate precedent for people campaigning for similarly punitive taxes elsewhere.

Bonus taxes are politically very popular, but so far only the UK has introduced one of any weight. Needless to say, that 50% tax expired last year. Ed Miliband is campaigning for its reintroduction. Events in Ireland may encourage him to do so more enthusiastically.

Bob Diamond says the banking commission WON'T split up UK banks. (Bloomberg)

Barclays wants the break up of Lloyds; Lloyds wants BarCap to have extra capital charge. ( Telegraph)

Barclays Financial Products, which sells unit trusts, share Isas, personal pensions and other stock market-linked products to ordinary Barclays customers in branches, will be shut down. ( The Times)

Barclays has been fined 1.1m for failing to keep client money separate from its investment banking arm's corporate account for more than eight years. ( Financial Times)

Marc Faber: I dont think the 'thinkers' are in Davos. I think it's a group of liars, and people that go along with the system, and perpetuate fraud and abuse, and dubious practices in the financial system. ( ZeroHedge)

One banker attacked the extraordinary "intellectual hubris" of regulators, many of whom were the same people who helped to get us into the mess in the first place but now think they have the blueprints to prevent it happening again. (The Times)

Chief executive of Bosch says he'll stop doing business with banks that maximise bonuses. ( Financial Times)

Why Goldman's asset management mediocrity doesn't really matter. (Wall Street Journal)

Gary Cohn says bank regulation will lead to exponential growth in hedge funds. ( Financial Times)

Goldman or bust? (Wall Street Oasis)

Goldman Sachs collected $2.9 billion from the American International Group as payout on a speculative trade it placed for the benefit of its own account. (Huffington Post)

Angry Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan is one of the good guys and that: "We try to do our best every day." (Guardian)

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission says bonuses WERE to blame ." (Bloomberg)

Banks still want the FSA to repeal its ban on buybacks. (SkyNews)

Peter Sands says banker bashing" has created a culture of pointless political micro-regulation of the City which is as irrelevant as seatbelts in air crashes. (Guardian)

Peter Sands wife does not look like a woman who is overly familiar with expensive spas or cosmetic surgeons. (Evening Standard)

Brevan Howard hires BofA Merrill prop trading duo. (Financial News)

Macho women who know when to be feminine get all the promotions. (ABCNews)

11 crazy things I saw as a first year analyst at Morgan Stanley. (BusinessInsider)

The London School of Economics sent a letter to employers, highlighting the end "alarming" end of the "post-study work" visa scheme. ( Financial Times)

In China, it is easier to get into Harvard than McDonalds Hamburger University. (Bloomberg)

Having tried the corporate iPhone, Deutsche Bank declares the corporate Blackberry defunct. (Finextra)

Hawkpoint's hired Michael Howard. (Financial News)

Speakers at the London School of Economics' Alternative Investment Conference, advised the students to train as management consultants rather than bankers if they wanted a successful career. (Financial News)