Walker Review expected to produce "incremental changes"

Sir David Walker's review of corporate governance and bankers' pay is likely to succeed in changing the culture of the UK financial services industry.

This is according to Philip Shrives, reader in accounting and corporate governance at Newcastle Business School, who claimed in a recent article for the Economic Voice that the review will inspire "incremental changes" rather than a "wholesale" shift in attitudes.

Sir David's report recommends that banks disclose the number of executives earning more than £1 million, although it stops short of requiring them to identify individuals.

According to Mr Shrives, naming top-earning executives would be "too intrusive", although he described the disclosure of pay in bands as "a step in the right direction".

He also said that the recommendation of increasing the length of time non-executives spend on the job to between 30 and 36 days is "a positive move".

The writer added: "Non-executives still need to be competent, experienced, and have the integrity to stand up to chairmen and especially chief executives."