The biggest lie of the capitalism and liberal market supporter is that banks are working in a free market. With this lie they justified huge salaries as well as scandalous bonuses.
Banks are not working in a free market. a business that works in a free market can either gain profit or lose. It can prosper or collapse. Banks cannot collapse as no government will allow it. Collapsing bank takes with it his customers money, and I am talking about the savers, those that place their money in the bank for safe keeping. A bank on the verge of collapse is either being bailed out by the government like in the USA and the UK or nationalized like it happened in the 80s in Israel and Sweden.
Basically a bank cannot lose if it works under tight and specific regulations however banks became speculators and gamblers, yes all type of brokerage is gambling. The gambling is done with the money of the customers and they are being paid fortune for this. But if the gambling fails, the government pay the bills and as we know government takes the money from the citizens.
The money taken from the citizen is saving the bank that keeps on gambling. The brokers are paid huge salaries and it doesn’t matter if they lose or win. So practically a bank cannot lose and the brokers has no reason for such bonuses. If the bank want to gamble he should sign a contract with his brokers that they are responsible for their loses as well. If the citizens (government) are responsible for the banks loses then the citizen should share the profit as well.
Free market means that you cannot hold the stick from both side. Banks claim that the enormous bonuses to the brokers are meant to attract the best. of course this is bullshit, if all the banks would be limited and all their contract would have been under inspection and regulation where would the broker go ? America ? there are enough un-employed brokers there.