eFC Bonus Roundup: Less Cash, More Shares
Three U.S. investment banks substituted stock for cash in a portion of last year's bonuses, following in the footsteps of UBS.
Share-Based Bonuses on the Rise
The movement toward paying bonuses in shares instead of cash gained steam as JPMorgan, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch each took steps in that direction. [Jan. 31]
Full-Year Pay, and Bonus Pools, Grew 8 Percent For 2007
Fourth-quarter financial results indicate the total bonus pool for Wall Street's five biggest firms climbed 8 percent in 2007, to a record high $39 billion. [Jan. 21]
At Hedge Funds, Bigger Is Better This Year
Pay disparities spawned by 2007's spotty hedge fund returns are prompting analysts and portfolio managers to migrate from smaller to larger fund groups early in the new year. [Jan. 10]
Bonuses May Spur Exodus From Merrill
If you're among the many Merrill Lynch employees who find your bonus scaled back, the consolation is: you're not damaged goods. [Jan. 9]
Goldman Bonus Rumor: Dark Window on 2008?
A rumor that Goldman Sachs stiffed back-office staff on bonuses suggests Wall Street's troubles - and near-term career prospects - are even worse than they appear. [Jan. 8]
New Slots, Pay Gains for Commodities
An ongoing boom in demand for oil, gold and grain is fueling profits for commodity trading desks even as the sub-prime mess has soured fixed-income trading, once a meal ticket at most banks. [Jan. 2]
Banks' Losses Seen Limiting Payouts
Fourth-quarter results confirm that bulge-bracket banks' profits and payouts are coming in below 2006 - except at Goldman Sachs, which is extending its lead over its peers. [Dec. 19]
Bonus Damage: It's Not Just Fixed-Income
As one of Wall Street's primary casualties of the sub-prime meltdown, Merrill Lynch is being spotlighted as an early read on the breadth and depth of damage to year-end bonuses. [Dec. 18]
Goldman Bonuses: The Moment of Truth
Goldman will report its fourth quarter results next Tuesday, and is expected to disclose bonus numbers to managing directors later this week and junior staff after the weekend. [Dec. 12]
Hedge Funds Need Back-Office Talent
Hedge fund are paying senior accountants median bonuses of $35,000 this year (50 percent of median base) and assistant controllers $70,000 (75 percent of base). Fund operations associates are expected to get a median $42,000 bonus (60 percent of base), a new survey shows. Yet despite such alluring numbers, fund companies are having a hard time staffing their back offices, and the door is open for talented young professionals to enter the hedge fund industry in a variety of non-investment roles. [Dec 12]
Would You Cut Your Bonus to Aid Your Firm?
We asked eFC users whether they'd take a smaller bonus in order to help their firm. The results:
- Absolutely - 9.5 percent
- Only because I have to - 22.9 percent
- I worked, I earned - I expect a full bonus - 53.5 percent
- What happens, happens - 14.1 percent [Dec. 3]
Skirmishes Over 'Loyalty' Pay, Stock Bonuses
At a time when bankers elsewhere fear losing their jobs, top performers at ABN AMRO are reportedly demanding a total of $1.11 billion in accelerated retention bonuses because the Dutch-based institution was acquired by a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland. Separately, a Financial Times column discusses the risks banks face when they pay bonuses in shares instead of cash. [Dec. 3]
In Time for the Holidays: Are Fresh Layoffs Coming?
Fresh troubles at Freddie Mac, Countrywide and HSBC show that capital destruction continues to afflict the financial sector. As share prices fall and balance sheets buckle under the strain, troubled institutions can be expected to cut costs, and heads, beyond the relatively shallow steps undertaken over the past three months. [Nov. 28]
Competition Seen Propping Bonuses For Many
As the bonus guessing game continues, Bloomberg News weighed in with an industry-wide estimate on the bullish side, projecting total bonuses at just under $38 billion, up from $36 billion last year. [Nov. 20]
Wall Street's bonus pie is shrinking but equity traders, investment bankers, prime brokers and some other professionals will still get bigger slices than last year, a new survey indicates. [Nov. 16]
Bonus Update: Wide Dispersion Among Banks
Get ready for wide gaps in how the big banks compensate their employees this year. [Nov. 14]
Higher Payouts Seen For Banking, Equity Groups
Year-end bonuses for investment banking groups remain on track to climb 10 - 20 percent above last year's robust levels, notwithstanding the debt crunch that hammered bottom lines and put a damper on new jumbo LBOs, a new report concludes. [Nov. 8]
Everyone asks: Is the credit crisis in the eighth inning, or the second? Our best guess: It's the bottom of the fifth. [Nov.9]
