UPDATE 1-France to push G20 on bankers' pay

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By Anna Willard

PARIS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - France is worried at the lack of progress some countries have made in implementing standards on banking pay that were agreed at the G20 leaders meeting in Pittsburgh in September, a French official said on Wednesday.

The French will raise the issue at a follow-up meeting of finance ministers and central bankers this weekend in Scotland.

France has said it will shortly apply the G20 standards and wants the rules, which aim to discourage excessive risk taking, to be applied everywhere before 2009 bonuses are paid between February and March next year.

"We are quite worried over what's happening in the area of pay," the French official told reporters at a briefing ahead of the meeting in St Andrews on Friday and Saturday.

The news that eight major U.S. banks, which were at the front of the line for government bailouts during the financial crisis, have set aside $117.6 billion this year to pay employees, has brought fresh concern over bonuses.

Politicians in many countries have had trouble justifying the decision to pour state money into the banking system to help it survive with bankers still taking home huge bonuses while the public faces rising unemployment.

But banks say all countries must have the same rules or those in based in places with a more relaxed attitude will have a competitive advantage when trying to attract top staff.