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The U.K. government this week will ask about a dozen international banks including the U.S.' Citigroup Inc. (C) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) to toughen the terms of bonuses they pay to U.K. employees, in an effort to contain public anger as banks enjoying the benefits of government stimulus start paying out what are expected to be bumper 2009 bonuses.

The Wednesday meeting with 10 banks that also include JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and Nomura Holdings Inc. (NMR) is being held two weeks after the U.K. Treasury got the country's five largest banks to agree to reform their remuneration structures by complying with a code issued by the Financial Services Authority in August. The FSA code, which comes into effect Jan. 1, is broadly inline with remuneration reforms set out at the Group of 20 leaders summit last month.

By getting commitments now, the government is hoping to demonstrate the U.K.'s leadership on implementing the G20 rules, while appeasing public frustration that some bankers are still reaping big rewards despite the ongoing financial crisis.

Barclays PLC (BCS), Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.LN), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG), Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) and HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) agreed Sept. 30 to follow the FSA remuneration code for their 2009 bonus payments, in measures that include spreading out two-thirds of bonus payments to senior employees over three years.

In a joint statement, those banks said it is essential that remuneration rules should be implemented globally, to ensure a level playing field. Banker pay and bonuses have been a hot topic across the globe as investors and taxpayers look for scapegoats in the financial crisis.

While the U.S., European and Asian banks active in the U.K. are expected to signal their agreement with the G20 principles, it isn't clear that they will unequivocally sign on for the FSA code - some of which consists of points of guidance rather than watertight rules.

Many of the banks say privately that their pay practices are already inline with the guidelines.

Other banks invited to the Wednesday meeting include UBS AG (UBS), Morgan Stanley, Bank of America (BAC) and BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR).

-By Margot Patrick, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9451; margot.patrick@dowjones.com

(Patricia Kowsmann and Laurence Norman contributed to this report.)