The UK needs better corporate governance

The Times today reports that Barclays' "high-rolling investment bankers" are about to receive bumper profits, despite the fact that the bank has to make large provisions for bad debts.

Barclays was not major beneficiary of the government's trillion pound bailout package. The bank wasn't recapitalized. Aren't these are a private matter?

However, I wonder about the shareholders of Barclays. I can't see how the shareholder's interests are served by simultaneously rewarding staff while at the same time covering their mistakes through making profit reducing provisioning for bad loans.

The sad fact is that shareholder rights are extremely weak in the UK financial sector. Insiders, through excessive bonuses and salaries, have been ripping off the owners of these institutions. It is time this stopped.

There is a need for a thorough review of corporate governance in this country. The objective should be to strengthen shareholder rights. It is time we stopped senior management from ripping cash out of the companies that they are supposed to run in the interests of its owners.