Though governments tend to react to massive bonus payments by legislation, the real question remains unsolved. Why are executive incomes in that segment so high, and why do they only go in one direction? The banks concerned claim that they have to pay high  boni or staff will leave. OK – let them leave. Firstly, there are not that many places to go to. Secondly, the real top performers leave anyway and set up their own business. Finally, there are many more qualified people around than highly paid positions. So why are the usual rules of supply and demand not working?

A small example may demonstrate part of the answer. A friend of mine at the Deutsche Bank in Germany asked if I could help him find a new secretary. He said he could not find anyone with the knowledge needed even when he offered 7000 Euro a month – for Germany a very high salary. On closer questioning it appeared that he wanted someone with experience doing exactly what his secretary would do – not surprisingly there are not that many secretaries in the investment bank area looking for that job. It seems my friend forgot that he had learnt how to do his much more demanding job within one year, without having previous knowledge. A competent secretary would learn their task within three months – he had lost that time anyway while searching and could have saved his employer at least 3000 Euro per month.

Maybe banks are no longer prepared or able to train their employees for new tasks and therefore pay exorbitant amounts to the few people who are lucky enough to be able to prove their ability. If universities would produce enough graduates with the required know-how and practical experience, the problem of overpayment could be solved. That could be a better investment for the government than supporting banks in trouble.

Further it is generally the rule, that people who have the chance of earning immense amounts run the risk of losing if they are wrong. Of course, if I could find a casino where I could only win but never loose, I would go there. But who would run such a casino? A bank executive with government subsidies? 

This may not be a social crm issue, but it certainly is a social issue. A CRM question is: are investment bankers working for their customers or at the cost of their customers?