Bear Stearns hires in and pays up

Bear Stearns second quarter results underline the fact that pay is on its way up.

Employee compensation and benefit expenses at the US bank rose 32.2% between the second quarter of 2005 and the second quarter of 2006, according to the results released yesterday. At the same time, the number of employees at the bank increased only 12.4%.

Fortunately, Bear Stearns appears well able to afford such largesse: net income at the bank rose 55.6% over the same period.