Bankers cost each one of us £8.40 for every £1 they produce, study shows

Meanwhile hospital cleaners on £6.26 an hour are worth £10 for every £1 they cost

A bank worker counts out euro notes (Pic: Reuters) A bank worker counts out euro notes (Pic: Reuters)

Rich bankers can today be exposed as a huge drain on society... costing the rest of us £8.40 for every £1 they produce.

A study by think-tank the New Economics Foundation found the average banker destroys £42million a year in value while creating just £5million.

Meanwhile hospital cleaners on £6.26 an hour are worth £10 for every £1 they cost because they prevent superbugs, saving the economy a fortune.

The shock figures fly in the face of claims that bankers like Barclays boss Bob Diamond — paid £4.4million in 2010/11 — are worth vast bonuses because of their contribution to the economy.

Their drain on the country is caused by the cost of bailing out banks brought to their knees by the credit crunch and the devastating impact of the crisis their recklessness caused.

NEF found that tax accountants who help the rich cut their bill were even worse value, costing us £47 for every £1 they create.

Meanwhile low-paid public sector workers like nursery workers and bin men were found to more than earn their wages.

Helen Kersley from the NEF said: "We get a huge tax contribution from the City [the "City of London" refers to the financial sector — a square mile within the ancient city walls that is the British equivalent of Wall Street] but it pales into insignificance next to the damage from the financial crisis in terms of unemployment, bailing out banks and leaving us with a massive public debt."