Hi °C | Lo °C So we all have to wait a little bit longer for the long-awaited report on bankers' pay.
Human resources specialists Mercer completed its research into pay at all levels in the so-called "covered banks" at the end of last year, but the report has yet to surface.
"All levels" means the controversial €500,000 a year cap on bankers' pay is up for review. Industry insiders say the cap is a barrier to hiring top talent.
The Punt understands the report is sitting on Finance Minister Michael Noonan's desk, after publication was pushed back for a second time last week.
A weakness for conspiracy theories and over-active imagination means the Punt has convinced itself that the delay is down to unpalatable findings spilling out of the research.
After all, no minister wants to tell the public that in future their second as well as first born children must be sacrificed to placate the gods of finance, or worse that Ireland's hard-pressed bank chiefs are underpaid.
Maybe the Punt is being unfair. The latest bloody-mindedness from the European Central Bank over the promissory notes used to bail out Anglo Irish bank means Michael Noonan's desk is a pretty busy spot these days.
Irish Independent
