European governments are stepping in to cap bankers' pay as public anger rises in advance of the G20 summit.

Four senior executives at French Bank Société Générale (SocGen) paid back their share options under government pressure. The Netherlands finance ministry has followed with pressure of its own on banking major ING, citing the need for a change of culture.

Meanwhile in Germany, according to a Bloomberg report, Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann took a 90 percent pay cut last year following the worst set of financial results in 50 years.