Cap on bonuses a worry for European banks

London

THE European Union's largest securities firms will have to raise fixed pay for bankers or risk losing their highest-paid staff to US competitors after the region's banking regulator blocked efforts by 39 banks to sidestep limits on bonuses, according to analysts and recruiters.

The European Banking Authority on Thursday gave firms until the end of the year to bring their practices into compliance with EU rules that ban bonuses of more than twice fixed pay.