German experts compiling a brief for the G20 summit in Washington are to call for a revision of the way banking executives are paid and a worldwide loan registry, sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Friday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck commissioned the experts to rapidly draft a set of proposals and report back Friday. Led by Otmar Issing, a former chief economist of Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, they said short-term performance bonuses for financial executives had been a significant cause of the global financial crisis. They called for alternative incentives, such as increasing pension rights for good work. But Issing and the other experts said government regulations on pay would not work. The group also called for a world database of loans, similar to the public land registries which in many countries show who owns land. Registries would allow governments to quickly see how big the credit risks in a nation were. One of the German government's five key economic advisers, Peter Bofinger, has separately suggested that such a registry should include all loans over 1 million euros (1.25 million dollars). The Issing group also called for annual public reviews by independent auditors of ratings agencies. Merkel was to officially receive the brief in Berlin Friday before leaving for Washington, where the meeting begins with a dinner, followed by substantive talks among the Group of 20 on Saturday.
