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Walker Report, Nov. 2009

As dealt with before, the British government levied a 50 per cent "supertax" on bank bonuses. A major decision basis for the British government is the so called "Walker Report". Earlier this year Sir David Walker was asked by the UK Government to examine corporate governance in the banking industry. His consultative report was released in July and caused a stir with its far-reaching recommendations about the role of non-executive directors, the establishment of board risk committees and remuneration. There was a lot of chatter in the news about the fact that the Government was not going to adopt these recommendations.

After the final Walker report has been issued on November 26, the UK Government announced that they would “move quickly” to implement the necessary reforms:

HM Treasury: Government to implement Walker reforms on pay and governance, Nov. 26, 2009

Looking at the previous chatter in the public, the implementation of the "supertax" can also be seen as a political step.