Bankers in High Court over £42m 'unpaid' bonuses

More than 100 London investment bankers have launched a claim in the High Court for £42m in unpaid bonuses.

Andrew Hochhauser QC, representing 21 of the 104 bankers, accused German banking giant Commerzbank of trying to "move the goalposts" when it enacted a clause permitting it to cut bonuses by 90% following the global banking crisis, reports the Independent.

He told Mr Justice Owen the bankers had promised the payments at a town hall meeting in London in August 2008.

"Put briefly, those promises have not been honoured, and that is why we are here today," he said.

Commerzbank has submitted a "skeletal argument" in which it says most of the bankers earned a basic salary of £100,000 a year. "Their complaint is that they were not paid enough," said the bank.