London Mayor Says EU Bank Bonus Cap Helps New York, Singapore

London Mayor Boris Johnson lashed out at a European Union cap on bankers' bonuses on Thursday, warning that the move will shunt banking business towards Zurich, Singapore and New York.

LONDON, Feb 28 London Mayor Boris Johnson lashed out at a European Union cap on bankers' bonuses on Thursday, warning that the move will shunt banking business towards Zurich, Singapore and New York.

Bankers in Europe face a cap on bonuses as early as next year, following a provisional agreement in Brussels to introduce what would be the world's strictest pay curbs.

"People will wonder why we stay in the EU if it persists in such transparently self-defeating policies," Johnson said in a statement. "Brussels cannot control the global market for banking talent, Brussels cannot set pay for bankers around the world."

"The most this measure can hope to achieve is a boost for Zurich and Singapore and New York at the expense of a struggling EU. This is possibly the most deluded measure to come from Europe since Diocletian tried to fix the price of groceries across the Roman empire."