The former Labour government's plan to claw back half of all cash bonuses as a parting shot to banks operating in the UK has raised six times original estimates, in what might be seen as a gift to the coalition government successors and may call into doubt the measure's effectiveness in reining in pay.

Financial News analysis of company reports and statements from press departments shows that the world's largest banks are set to pay at least £3.07bn (€3.7bn) towards the UK's "payroll tax", a one-off levy introduced by former Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling in the pre-Budget report in December. That is nearly six times the initial target set by the former Labour Government in December - and over £500m more than recent projections in June.