The Money Grab

With the debate over bankers’ bonuses reignited by Lord Myners’ comments to the BBC over the weekend and the publication of Barclays’ interim results today, Alvin Hall’s documentary on the rise of City pay packages was ideally timed.

The first of the two-part series charted the political and financial market events that led to a bonus culture that is now out of control. This provided a useful timeline from the 1980s until today, and it was good to have points about greed and motivation addressed without trying to humiliate the interviewees (including several City insiders and a former investment banker).