Banks to proceed with bonus bonanza

City bankers will pocket billions of pounds in bonuses this year as bank bosses reject pleas from ministers to slash payouts.The total figure may be less than it would have been if the government hadn't put pressure on the banks, but that's all, according to the BBC.Quite how much of an impact is unclear, but investment banking hasn't been quite so lucrative this year, so bonuses would probably not have been as high as in 2009 anyway.Coalition leaders are still likely to be embarrassed by the level of payouts though, just as their tough package of spending cuts, including thousands of public sector job losses, begin to bite.Business secretary Vince Cable has already warned the banks that "robust action" will be taken if the City fails to curb its excesses.State-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is thought to be preparing payments of nearer £1bn rather than last year's £1.3bn, while Barclays may not hand out quite as much as last time.Despite only surviving the credit crunch because of huge government bailouts, the banks argue that they risk losing top money-making staff if they cut bonuses.As a concession, they may commit to an increase in lending to small businesses, helping Britain's economic recovery.