'Big four' banks cut 189,000 jobs worldwide in five years

By the end of this year, Britain's four biggest banks will have axed 189,000 jobs around the world in the five years since the financial crisis broke, according to new calculations.

The figures, compiled by Bloomberg, show that Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and HSBC will have cut their global headcount by 24% to a nine-year low of 606,000, compared with their pre-crisis peak of 795,000 in 2008.

Royal Bank of Scotland Holdings has axed 78,000 jobs since its £45bn taxpayer bailout in 2008. This includes 4,000 roles in its UK high-street banking business. Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of the bank, which is now 81% owned by the taxpayer, told shareholders this month that further job cuts could not be ruled out.

An RBS spokeswoman said the 78,000 job losses included 39,000 staff who had worked for Fortis and Santander when the three banks joined forces to launch a takeover of Dutch rival ABN Amro in 2007. This is now seen as one of the most disastrous acquisitions in business history, squeezing RBS's capital buffers to tiny margins and exposing the Edinburgh-based bank to rotten US sub-prime loans.

UK banks have reduced their global headcount by 24% since 2008

HSBC, Europe's largest bank, is down to 254,000 staff, compared with 313,000 in 2008. The bank infuriated unions last month when it described 3,166 job losses as "demising" roles. HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver plans to slim the bank further, cutting staff to 240,000 by the end of 2016 to trim costs and boost shareholder dividends.

An HSBC spokeswoman said the bank had made a net reduction of 1,100 jobs in the UK, once new positions were taken into account.

Lloyds, which received a £20.5bn bailout in 2008, will have cut 31,000 jobs by the end of this year, including 2,340 in 2013. The bank, now 39% owned by the British taxpayer, announced 850 job losses this month to cut costs, but was unable to give figures on how many of the 31,000 job losses were in the UK.

Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins, appointed to clean up the bank after the Libor-rate rigging scandal, has said it may axe 40,000 roles in the coming years. Barclays will have cut 20,800 jobs by the end of this year since the start of the crisis. This includes about 5,500 jobs lost in the UK between 2008 and 2012.

The figures come after three of the four banks reported sharply improved profits. Last month, Lloyds posted first quarter profits of £2bn, up from £288m at the same time a year ago. HSBC this month said it made a quarterly pre-tax profit of $8.4bn, almost double the $4.3bn it reported at the same time last year. RBS swung to a £826m profit after a £1.4bn loss last time. Barclays last month reported adjusted first quarter profits had fallen 25% to £1.8bn, partly due to the cost of the bank's restructuring programme.

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OECD under pressure to devise new corporate tax regime

Paris-based thinktank co-ordinating international tax agreements expected to publish strategy document this week

The pressure is on OECD secretary-general Angel Gurría to formulate a taxpayers' charter that resolves the current disputes over corporation tax payments.

The Paris-based thinktank has accepted various duties over the years, and co-ordinating international tax agreements is one of them.

On Wednesday all eyes will be on its HQ near the Eiffel Tower, where it is expected to publish its latest paper on the subject, and, within its wordy shell, present a coherent strategy.

Google boss Eric Schmidt claims all he wants is a level playing field. He says his firm must play the system to minimise tax and use every available lever to please its shareholders. Only when the rules clearly stop him will he resist the temptation to end his tax dodging ways.

Google boss Eric Schmidt, who says his company complies with all British tax law.

 The problem centres on the role royalties play in international company structures. At the moment Google can charge its various subsidiaries a royalty for using its brand and a host of other goodies developed in California. Stopping this legitimate practice is going to be difficult.

In the past the OECD has proposed moving away from corporation tax in favour of sales taxes and wealth taxes, which would apply to a good deal of the assets and transactions carried out by corporations such as Google.

But whatever scheme is devised will need to win international support. Just a couple of weak links would undermine the entire project. Ireland, for instance, is unapologetic, despite the many recent examples that show US companies fail to even pay the 12.5% corporation tax Dublin charges. Turkey has long given up any pretence of charging foreign companies corporation tax. Even manufacturers can escape as long as they export their goods.

For every country that can say it is tough on international businesses, such as Norway, there are 10 that turn a blind eye.

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Euro leaders unite to tackle soaring youth unemployment rates

François Hollande makes impassioned plea for jobless 'post-crisis' generation that fears it will never work

European leaders warned on Tuesday that youth unemployment – which exceeds 50% in some countries – could lead to a continent-wide catastrophe and widespread social unrest aimed at member state governments.

The French, German and Italian governments joined forces to launch initiatives to "rescue an entire generation" who fear they will never find jobs. More than 7.5 million young Europeans aged between 15 and 24 are not in employment, education or training, according to EU data. The rate of youth unemployment is more than double that for adults, and more than half of young people in Greece (59%) and Spain (55%) are unemployed.

François Hollande, the French president, dubbed them the "post-crisis generation", who will "for ever after, be holding today's governments responsible for their plight".

"Remember the postwar generation, my generation. Europe showed us and gave us the support we needed, the hope we cherished. The hopes that we could get a job after finishing school, and succeed in life," he said at conference in Paris. "Can we be responsible for depriving today's young generation of this kind of hope?"

 We're talking about a complete breakdown of identifying with Europe.

"Imagine all of the hatred, the anger"What's really at stake here is, not just 'Let's punish those in power'. No. Citizens are turning their backs on Europe and the construction of the European project.

Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, warned that unless Europe tackled youth employment, which stands at 23.5% across the EU, the continent "will lose the battle for Europe's unity".

Italy's labour minister, Enrico Giovanni, said European leaders needed to work together to "rescue an entire generation of people who are scared [they will never find work

"We have the best ever educated generation in this continent, and we are putting them on hold," he said.

The UK Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury were unable to say why Britain, which has a 20.7% rate of youth unemployment, was not represented at the conference in Paris on Tuesday.

Stephen Timms, shadow employment minister, attacked the coalition for remaining "utterly silent on youth unemployment".

"This government has totally failed to tackle Britain's youth jobs crisis. This government must stop sitting on the sidelines and take the urgent action we need to get young people back to work."

Hollande outlined a series of measures to tackle the problem, including a "youth guarantee" to promise everyone under 25 a job, further education or training.

The plan, which has been discussed by the European commission, will be supported by €6bn (£5bn) of EU cash over the next five years. Another €16bn in European structural funds is also set aside for youth employment projects.

Herman Van Rompuy, European council president, pledged to put the "fight against unemployment high on our agenda" at the next EU summit in June. "We must rise to the expectations of the millions of young people who expect political action," he said.

The commission estimates youth joblessness costs the EU €153bn in unemployment benefit, lost productivity and lost tax revenue. "In addition, for young people themselves, being unemployed at a young age can have a long-lasting negative 'scarring effect'," the commission said. "These young people face not only higher risks of future unemployment, but also higher risks of exclusion, of poverty and of health problems."

President Hollande at the Elysée Palace in Paris

The European ministers, who will meet German chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the youth unemployment crisis in July, said small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) will form a central plank of the plans. SMEs traditionally employ the vast majority of young people, but have complained they haven't been able to borrow enough money to grow since the financial crisis struck in 2008.

Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's labour minister, said: "Many SMEs, which are the backbone of our economies, are ready to produce but need capital, or they have to pay exorbitant borrowing rates."

The minsters are working on establishing a special credit line for SMEs from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which will have a €70bn lending capacity this year.

However, Werner Hoyer, head of the EIB, warned minister not have "expectations completely over the horizon".

"Let's be honest, there is no quick fix, there is no grand plan," he admitted.

Schäuble warned that European welfare standards should not be jeopardised in order to cut youth unemployment figures. "We would have a revolution, not tomorrow, but on the very same day," he warned. Germany and Austria have the lowest rate of youth unemployment, with 8% not in work, education or training.

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