London bankers fear bonus 'donuts' to double

A separate survey released on Monday said a third of London financial workers expect their base pay to rise in 2013, as firms try to attract and retain the best talent.

Recruitment firm Morgan McKinley said 57 percent of financial workers it polled expected compensation to remain relatively flat this year and 33 percent expected a pay rise of up to 10 percent. Half of those expecting an increase cited firms' need to attract and retain the best talent as the main reason.

Morgan McKinley said there was a 36 percent drop in registered job vacancies in financial services in December from the previous month to 1,323 positions, down 24 percent from a year earlier.

It said it expects a pick up this month, as a seasonal slowdown in December was compounded by some banks postponing hiring until the new year.