The chief executive of HSBC, Michael Geoghegan, has warned against a return to guaranteed staff bonuses, warning that such remuneration could “disrupt” the banking industry, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the publication, Mr Geoghegan told the attendants of the Euromoney Awards that the banking industry must learn the lessons of last year’s financial meltdown and be wary of returning to boom-time habits.

The extent to which bonus systems may have encouraged inappropriate risk-taking by financial services professionals, and therefore contributed to the financial crisis, is high on the regulatory agenda across the globe. Policymakers in a number of countries have proposed laying down tough rules on bankers' pay as part of a move to discourage potentially damaging behaviour.

"We run on a philosophy that banking is a very boring business. We take deposits and lend second - that is the fundamental of our industry and it has often been forgotten. Before we reopen the securitisation markets let's get back to that principle," the paper reported Mr Geoghegan as having said.

Mr Geoghegan made these comments only days after media reports claimed that Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank and wealth management firm, will pay staff more than it did in its record year 2007.

Mr Geoghegan made his speech - in which he called for long-term incentives for staff - to an audience including many senior banking industry figures, including Deutsche Bank’s Josef Ackerman and Credit Suisse’s Paul Calello.

Bankers’ bonuses have been a particularly contentious issue in the aftermath of the financial crisis, with institutions facing censure from both policymakers and the public over pay structures which are deemed to have prioritised short-term gains over long-term stability.

The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that at the height of the financial crisis governments in a number of countries took significant holdings in banks – many of which offer wealth management services. The concept of government involvement in private banking has sat uneasily with the industry for a number of reasons and institutions are understandably keen to repay government funds, if only to free themselves of scrutiny on issues such as executive remuneration.