BRITAIN YESTERDAY called for an agreement on “international principles to end the short-term bonus culture” in the banking sector.

Prime minister Gordon Brown told a Labour party conference in Scotland that he would be putting proposals for a global deal to promote payments to bankers based on “long-term results” to next month’s G20 summit of leaders.

Mr Brown returned from his trip to Washington this week convinced he could win consensus for a global package of economic reforms at the London summit.

But aides yesterday sought to play down expectations the bonus deal would impose global curbs on bank pay – an ambition that several other countries would be likely to veto. Instead, the government suggested Britain hoped to broker a deal on broad principles, which would then be implemented by national regulators.

“We’re seeking to agree on common principles . . . different countries could take that forward to implement in different ways,” said the prime minister’s spokesman.

Aides to Mr Brown cited proposals being drawn up the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the leading regulator, as an example. These would impose more onerous controls – higher capital ratios – on banks that persisted with a remuneration structure that rewarded short-term risk taking.

The FSA last week urged employers to defer two-thirds of bigger bonuses and tie future payouts to the success of the unit or business as a whole.

"The first stage is to get agreement to the idea of doing this," said one government insider. "We can't set out a particular format at this stage." – ( Financial Timesservice)