Bank bonus tax 'did not cause exodus of talented employees'

The government's tax on bank bonuses did not cause an exodus of talented financial sector workers as some had feared.

This is the view of Richard Hoar, director at the financial recruitment firm Goodman Masson, who said banks have found ways around the levy.

His comments come after Alistair Darling admitted that the Labour government's bonus tax had failed to alter behaviour in the banking industry.

The former chancellor told the Financial Times that "imaginative" financiers had found ways to avoid the levy and said it is unlikely that the new coalition will reinstate it.

Speaking to Recruiter magazine, Mr Hoar said that despite the "best efforts of the bank bashers" there has not been a "massive outflow of talent" from the industry.

He acknowledged that some hedge funds had moved to Switzerland, while others had given their brokers the chance to move abroad. However, on the whole, talented bankers have remained in the UK.

"Some firms have been paying their cash bonuses early," Mr Hoar explained. "The tax was generally paid by employers so there was no real haircut for the bankers involved."