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* UK to consider deferring bonuses beyond 5 years
* Parliamentary commission recommends 10-year deferral
* Carney: how, rather than amount, bankers paid is crucial
LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - British bank regulators will lookat the possibility of deferring bankers' bonus payments beyondfive years and reducing up-front cash payments for performance,Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday.
"We would rather see more deferral, more equity and thisability to take it back when those risks come to light," Carneytold lawmakers in Britain's parliament.
Many Britons blame bankers' risk-taking for the 2008financial crisis and subsequent slump and deferring bonuses isseen as a way to prevent bankers from taking excessive risks inorder to win bigger bonuses.
Under European Union rules, only a minority part of a bonuscan be paid upfront in cash, with the remainder deferred overfive years and paid in shares that vest over time.
The BoE's regulatory arm, the Prudential RegulationAuthority (PRA), will consult on whether to go further andimplement a recommendation by a parliamentary commission onbanking standards for a 10-year deferral period.
The PRA is also set to consult separately in coming monthson how to put into practice the idea of clawing back bonusesawarded for financial market bets that eventually turn sour.
Clawbacks, a tool that world leaders called for at theheight of the 2007-09 financial crisis, have been discussedincreasingly in recent months when more bankers were caught upin mis-selling scandals and probes into alleged manipulation ofbenchmarks for interest rates and foreign exchange.
Carney told lawmakers on Wednesday that for purposes ofkeeping financial systems stable, the way in which bankers arepaid was key rather than the actual amount.
"What we are most focused on is the structure ofcompensation, not the level of compensation," Carney said.
EU bankers bonus rules are being toughened up with theintroduction of a cap on awards for 2014 onwards, limiting themto no more than fixed salary or twice that level withshareholder approval.
Britain is challenging the cap in the EU's top court.
Carney, asked if such a curb was too crude, replied:"Absolutely. "
