Britain’s banks, including those bailed out at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, are under intense pressure to curb annual bonuses in light of the worsening economic climate.

The so-called bonus season for workers in the City, London’s financial district, traditionally sees traders and banks’ senior executives handed bumper pay awards – sometimes running into millions of pounds.

But amid a worsening economic outlook for Britain, as well as the eurozone, United States and China, calls for bonus restraint when the majority of awards are paid in January are rising fast.

“We need stronger banks not larger bonuses this winter,” British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told Parliament on Tuesday. Mr Osborne’s words come as activists from the Occupy London anti-capitalist group continue to camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral, almost two months after starting a protest.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) representing major investors in the banks, wrote: “...it is our members’ view that it can no longer be business as usual for this remuneration round. They expect to see significantly lower bonus pools and individual awards given the current market circumstances.”