Chart of the week: the banking lottery

published 2 June 2017

A job at a top investment bank is not the path to riches that many assume, says the Financial Times. Today's environment of "regulation, technology and public outrage" has made it far less cushy than it once was. So no wonder that sales of EuroMillions lottery tickets have been rising three times faster in stores in the City and Canary Wharf in recent weeks than elsewhere, on the back of a bumper €113m jackpot. But the odds aren't in the buyers' favour, however you choose to look at it. A banker was 14 million times more likely to get fired in 2015 than to win a EuroMillions jackpot.

Viewpoint

"If [Labour's proposed] 67.5% [effective tax] rate comes in, a saver who earns £123,000 can pay £23,000 into a pension, which brings his or her taxable pay down to £100,000 and therefore brings his top tax rate down to 45%. If you used a private pension you would need to pay £18,400 in; the scheme administrator would then top this sum up to the required £23,000 by reclaiming basic-rate tax relief of £4,600 on your behalf. You would then use your tax return to claim the rest of the relief, which is £10,925. Your total relief is therefore £15,525 and your net contribution is just £7,475. I'm not sure that this generosity to the highly paid is what Labour had in mind."

Richard Evans, The Daily Telegraph