Bankers' bonuses: Taking the blame

Leading politicians have spent the weekend arguing over who was responsible for failures of banking regulation - and what to do about it.

A spat developed over the extent to which the Labour government was to blame for the 2008 financial crisis, as talks continue with leading City institutions to set up a new bonuses regime.

Barclays is considering replacing its existing bonuses with contingent convertible bonds, the Financial Times newspaper has reported.

These would reward senior executives if the bank does well but would become virtually worthless if it performed poorly.

Meanwhile deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has kept up the pressure on banks to reform - continuing to hold the threat of splitting banks' retail and investment arms over the City.