Directors at the Royal Bank of Scotland are threatening to quit if the British government prevents them increasing bonuses.
The bank reportedly wants to pay a total of £1.5 billion in bonuses to investment banking staff, and the board has threatened to quit if the government blocks the move, the BBC says.
City Minister Lord Myners said it was unrealistic that bankers should expect to be paid million pound bonuses.
The British Treasury has said it would intervene if it was in the interest of taxpayers.
In the United States, Goldman Sachs has broken with tradition to hold a series of meetings with investors to discuss the awards it makes to executives and traders.
Bank of America plans to repay $US45 billion in government aid within the next few days to free itself of the White Houses' pay constraints, which it says is curbing its ability to retain talented traders.
Meanwhile, Barclays Bank is planning on increasing the non-variable element of staff pay at Barclays Capital, its investment bank, a BBC correspondent reports.
