Prime minister Gordon Brown has denounced them for stoking an “age of irresponsibility”; unions accuse them of encouraging a culture of greed; and, if the tabloid press is to be believed, they are the motivation for the “spivs and speculators” that have brought Lehman Brothers, Bradford & Bingley and others in the banking sector to their knees. To some people, the world financial crisis is all the fault of city bonuses.

So are the banks’ reward strategies partly to blame for the situation they find themselves in? Or are extravagant city bonuses merely an easy target to whinge about in bad times?