We have already commented on excessive executive bonuses. But once again the Americans seem to be pointing the right way to approach the issue.

A very large and influential US pension fund has threatened to take legal action against 29 financial companies in the USA unless the attempt legal action to recover more than £5 billion in excessive bonuses and pay.

Good on them!

The 29 nine companies threatened include AIG (who sponsor Manchester United), the merchant banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and Citi-Group.

Like us, the pension fund is highly critical of top executives that reward themselves despite delivering losses. “It’s like these guys got a windfall payment for betting the family’s entire savings on the wrong horse”, a spokesman said.

Anger in the USA boiled over last month when AIG paid $165 million in bonuses – after the company had been bailed out no less than four times by American taxpayers. To date the bail out amounts to $82.5 billion, yes, billion!

The culture that seems to continue both in the US and here in the UK, of rewarding failure, MUST STOP.

Bonuses can only ever be paid for proven profit performance and bonuses incorrectly paid, must be reclaimable.