LONDON – Barclays is planning to defer bonuses for its highest-paid executives in hopes of quashing public outrage regarding pay for bankers, Britain's Financial Times reported Saturday.

The move comes amid a backlash in the U.S. against banks who continue to pay whopping bonuses to top executives after being bailed out by taxpayer money.

Bank shares have plunged because of President Barack Obama plan to limit their size and risky trading and his proposal of a special tax to recover bailout funds. He also has branded the latest round of bank bonuses as "obscene."

Top executives at Barclay's will defer up to 100 percent of their bonuses for up to three years, the Financial Times reported. Some 2,000 or so staff will have as much as 75 percent of their payouts deferred, while lower ranking staff would have as much as 50 percent deferred, the newspaper said.

The measures are due to be signed off on before Barclays full year results next month.

The bank declined to comment on the report.