Love or money?
Are you working in financial services for love or money? If it's money you're after, you may be in the wrong business.
Needless to say, bonuses this year will be truly abysmal. Relatively conservative estimates, such as that by Alan Johnson, predict a 10-45% reduction for the rank and file, but who's to say banks won't take the opportunity to cut payouts by 60% or more?
The real question, however, is what happens in 2009, 2010, 2011, ad infinitum. Regulators worldwide are sniffing around bonuses. And with the broker dealer model now disgraced and banks facing lower leverage and lower margins for the foreseeable future, it's worth considering whether banking will ever be a lucrative profession again.
If bonuses are consigned to mediocrity, would you stay in the industry? Banks' recruiting spiels invariably evoke 'passion', but how much of the banking population is really in it for love?
