Banks should be forced to publicly disclose the number of employees who earn more than £1m a year, a major review has concluded.
Sir David Walker's review of banking governance and pay also called for greater powers for non-executive directors to monitor banks' risk taking and pay deals. However, the report stopped short of demanding that top earners are named.
The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, welcomed the final report and said the government would move swiftly to implement Walker's proposals.
He said the Walker review represented the "blueprint for how banks must be run in the future".
Until now there has been no formal requirement for banks to reveal employees' total pay-including salary, pension and bonuses-outside of the boardroom.
Walker also called for non-executive directors to spend up to 50 per cent more time on the job and for the chairman of the board to face annual re-election.
"The fundamental change needed is to make the boardroom a more challenging environment than it has often been in the past," said Walker.
"This requires non-executives able to devote sufficient time to the role in order to assess risk and ask tough questions about strategy."
CBI director general Richard Lambert said he welcomed the report's proposals.
"Sir David Walker has set out a sensible package of proposals that can strengthen the role of boards in identifying and managing risk," he said.
"In particular, we welcome the emphasis on ensuring balanced boards which are also equipped with the right skills, and on ensuring investors are active and engaged in scrutinising business strategy."
The Treasury said draft regulations will be published in the New Year and implemented soon afterwards.
Sign up to the New Statesman newsletter and receive weekly updates from the team
