Bankers' bonus cuts spark fears of employee backlash

Isn't the point that these bankers turned out not to be very talented at all? 

The argument about attracting 'top talent' is in some cases a spurious one.

Does anyone remember the situation with CEO's a few years ago when public service companies joined the private sector. The very same CEO's who had been prepared to work previously for £60-70k suddenly within the space of 6-12 months became 'worth' £200-250K - why?

There is absolutely no problem with risk/reward provided it is a true state of affairs.  However, we have all experienced the banking approach where reward accrues to the individual/organisation but the risk is mutualised over the taxpayer and yet the same individuals who have contributed to the countries current situation suffer no penalty and it's 'business as usual'

And for banks to be rebuilding their balance sheets at the expense of the public (base rate 0.5% - interest rate 7% - hidden charges etc) when they have already been bailed out by the taxpayer is nothing short of a disgrace

Furthermore, bonuses failing to be a reward for success and more akin to reward for turning up each day or a 'reward for failure' - also how many times have we seen huge 'payoff's' to people for abject failure and yet they move onto another lucrative job when in fact they should be blacklisted (frequently the case in the top echelons of the Civil Service etc)
 

Yes, reward for risk if your house is on the line, think startups, but those big corporates are more akin to a public body in terms of risk.

So the dichotomy should not be public:private but risky:not risky