Credit Suisse is to cut planned bonus payouts to senior UK staff by more than a third, becoming the first bank to pass on the bulk of a British supertax on bonuses to bankers.

The move, which follows last week's announcement from JPMorgan that its fourth-quarter compensation ratio fell from 37 per cent to 33 per cent and which coincides with an overhaul of pay at Citigroup, goes against the consensus view in the City of London that banks would absorb most of the controversial 50 per cent supertax.

Credit Suisse told its 400 managing directors in the UK yesterday that they would get a 30 per cent lower bonus than originally planned. There will also be a 5 per cent reduction in the global bonus pool, applicable to anyone among the bank's 47,400 staff who is due to receive a bonus.