Britain's 5 biggest banks agree to curb bonuses

LONDON: Britain's Treasury chief Alistair Darling says Britain's five biggest banks have promised to curb bonuses as agreed at the Group of 20 nations meeting in Pittsburgh.

Darling said Wednesday the banks have pledged to link bonuses to long-term performance. The changes will apply to bonuses paid out for performances in 2009.

The five banks that made the pledge are HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Lloyds and Standard Chartered.

Leaders at the G-20 meeting last week said a significant portion of bank officials' potential compensation should be delayed and tied to the performance of their investment decisions. They said excessive compensation contributed to excessive risk-taking and the recent global recession.