At CNBC Europe (UK centered) they just talked about these EU agreements and they were in total disbelief, since noone had seen this coming. That shows how totally disconnected the financial media are. They just think that by ignoring the facts they can continue their good life, while the real economy and normal people suffer. DCFM.

EU strikes deal to cap banker bonuses

Reuters) - Bankers in Europe face a cap on bonuses as early as next year, following agreement in Brussels on Thursday to introduce what would be the world's strictest pay curbs, in a move politicians hope will address public anger at financial-sector greed.

The provisional agreement, announced by diplomats and officials after late-night talks between EU country representatives and the bloc's parliament, means bankers face an automatic cap on bonus payouts at the level of their salaries.

If a majority of a bank's shareholders vote in favour, that ceiling can be raised to two-times pay.

"For the first time in the history of EU financial market regulation, we will cap bankers' bonuses," said Othmar Karas, the Austrian lawmaker who helped negotiate the deal.

Such limits to bankers' pay, which is set to enter EU law as part of a wider overhaul of capital rules to make banks safer, will be popular on a continent struggling to emerge from the ruins of a 2008 financial crisis.

But it represents a setback for the British government, which had long argued against such absolute limits. The City of London, the region's financial capital with 144,000 banking staff and many more in related jobs, will be hit hardest.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/28/uk-eu-bonus-karas-idUKBRE91R03D20130228