Bankers’ bonus exodus may be ‘price worth paying’ for reform

An exodus of bankers moving overseas to avoid the bonus tax could be “a price worth paying” to reform the financial sector, a senior Bank of England official has said.

Andy Haldane, the bank’s head of financial stability, said the new tax might cause some bankers to want to move abroad, but that would be an acceptable loss for the long-term improvement of the banking sector.

City firm Tullet Prebon has now given its banking staff the opportunity to relocate abroad to avoid taxes in the UK.

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Haldane told the BBC: “Some of the downsides of carrying around a big financial system are now evident to all. If some of that were to migrate overseas that would be unfortunate, but given the costs of carrying that financial system around, it may be a price worth paying.

“It’s true that the lobbying effort of the financial sector should not be underestimated. Equally, the way to beat that back is by appealing to logic and to evidence.”