Money Men

I don't have the figures to prove it, but I'd hazard a guess that more has been written over the past two years about bankers, bonuses and CDOs than God, David Beckham and Cheryl Cole combined (not that I'm suggesting in any way that the latter three are related!).

Some of what's been written has attempted to defend, justify or at least rationalise the City - the continual efforts of the Daily Telegraph's Damien Reece for one, and the more subtle defences employed by the FT for another. Most of what's been written has been on the opposite end of the scale though - the Mirror and its tabloid colleagues having had the most fun in taking aim at the big red target painted on the Square Mile.

The trouble with much of the negative stuff though has been that it's latched onto an argument that doesn't always have raional, sustainable legs - the fact is, the City makes a hell of money for the Treasury, and therefore the country. Yes they're grossly overpaid and that looks particularly bad at the moment, but up until a couple of years ago, there were very few voices calling for bankers heads - in fact, bonus season was always reported with a degree of mystique by the papers.

As I said though, much of what has been written on the negative side comes across as whining and moaning, rather than a constructive, rational argument - it's too easy to go for the over-the-top, Daily Mail-style reaction, but the majority of reporting has headed in that direction anyway.

That's why it was a pleasant suprise to read this article by Chris Blackhurst, the Evening Standard's City Editor, in yesterday's edition.

For me, he hit the real nail right on the head - it isn't the size of the bonus, it isn't the attitude of some in the City towards risk and wealth, and it isn't even the Government's failure to tackle it. What it is, is the simple fact that many in the City have lost perspective on normal society outside of their bubble.

As Blackhurst put it, "The banker's face was a picture to behold — one of astonishing blankness" when asked why bankers were paid bonuses for doing their normal, standard, everyday job as described on their contracts. This was swiftly followed up with "When I told my companion I couldn't recall ever having received a bonus as a journalist he looked baffled".

That for me should be the real crux of the argument about what needs to change - the City can be, and should be a good thing for the UK, but by operating in its own little world it has utterly forgotten the rules of the game in normal society.