Will extra tax levy on the bankers' bonuses really "damage" the City?

Last August the author of this, being no self publicist, published anonymously, in extenso, a letter that he received from the CEO of one of the largest and best known banks in the world together with the blog's author commentary. The title of the post was: "Liquidity risk".

Although the CEO did not request or implied confidentiality, it was intended that the CEO's identity would be kept secret. It is the intention of the author of this blog to keep the discussion on its merits without undue personal self-publicity. However the above mentioned CEO recently publicly criticised planned extra 50% company tax levy on top bankers' bonuses (over £25,000). In the circumstances the author of this blog decided that it was in the public interest to disclose the said CEO’s identity. The CEO's concern was that "Banks are competing globally - this bank, Barclays, competes with banks all around the world and we have to be able to compete on a level playing field," Mr Varley told the BBC."

The readers are invited to assess the articles "Liquidity risk", "Loan to deposit ratio and banks liquidity" and "Commentary to an article 'Loan to deposit ratio and banks liquidity" and the exchange of arguments, and decide for themselves whether it would "damage" the City and the financial industry in general if such talents as Mr Varley's (who is frequently referred to as one of the very top bankers) were eradicated.

Of course, any discussion – on the merits - from Mr Varley (and indeed anyone from Barclays) are welcome and will be published on this blog.