G20 ministers to discuss banking cap

LONDON, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Finance ministers with the Group of 20 will meet in London to discuss a potential earning cap for bankers amid the ongoing financial crisis, officials say.

The Times of London said Friday's scheduled meeting would address growing concerns regarding the bonus system used in the banking industry that some allege grants bankers large bonuses for risky banking endeavors.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said Thursday bonuses should be a reward that is earned, not simply guaranteed.

A call for increased bank regulation by the G20 developed and emerging nations has also come from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"We should explore ways to limit total variable remuneration in a bank either to a certain proportion of total compensation or the bank's revenues and/or profits," the three world leaders said in a joint letter Thursday.

"Our citizens are deeply shocked at the revival of reprehensible practices, despite taxpayers' money having been mobilized to support the financial sector at the height of the crisis," they added.