BANKER BUMMER

Can Gordon Brown Cap Bonuses?

U.K. leader pushes for global action.

Wall Street bankers have been warily guarding their bonuses from the Obama administration, but now they’ve got a new person to worry about—Gordon Brown. The British prime minister is making it his mission to crack down on banker bonuses, and he’s planning to ask for global support for the effort at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in late September. His plan includes a “clawback” system that confiscates bonus compensation if the deals for which it was awarded don’t pan out. “Remuneration has got to be based on long-term success, not short-term speculative deals," Brown says. "There's got to be a clawback system...if things are not working in year two." Brown says he is committed to reaching a joint agreement, a position he illustrated by rejecting a proposal introduced by France that would institute a mandatory global cap on banker bonuses.