Bankers' Bonuses 銀行家的獎金

By Economics Correspondent Andrew Walker

媒體英語會帶大家一起學習BBC撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語。

Background: 高盛投資銀行英國分部的高層老板決定把去年的工資和獎金額度限定在一百萬英鎊或一百六十萬美元之內。

After a year of strong profits, Goldman Sachs bankers could have been in line for even larger bonuses.

But in Britain the top hundred or so are limiting themselves to $1.6m (6.8m yuan) in total.

The saving to the bank could be worth several hundred million dollars.

Other executives at the bank are not subject to this limit however.

The move suggests the bank is responding to public and political pressure over pay in the financial sector, though to many people the figure will not seem to show very much restraint.

Goldman Sachs did not receive direct support from the British Treasury, though it did receive an investment from the US government which it has now repaid.

Two days ago, it emerged that the British bank Barclays would defer payment of some bonuses, a move intended to reduce the incentive to take excessive risks.