BarCap bankers 196k; RBS bankers 120k?

Barclays and RBS employ roughly the same number of people in their investment banking divisions: 23k vs. 22k. That, however, is where the similarities end.

While RBS bankers look set to make do with a 1.3bn bonus pot, BarCap's 4.5bn of compensation expense is now common knowledge. This equates to total comp of 196k per head. And assuming that around 2.3bn of this is allocated to bonuses, this implies an average BarCap bonus of 100k.

Added to this is the backdated salary payment BarCap bankers received in December, amounting to a cash payment of 50% of last year's salaries. This is due to be followed by further salary increases in the weeks to come.

At RBS, by comparison, the average bonus in the banking and markets division looks likely to be 59k. Salaries at the bank haven't been increased, and when they're factored in the average RBS employee can probably expect 120k at the most.

Unsurprisingly, given the discrepancy between RBS and the rest of the market, RBS bankers are leaving. The Telegraph reports today that Steve Ashley, who heads up RBS's lucrative trading division, and Chris Fleming, a senior salesman, are both departing the bank in advance of bonuses being paid. It seems likely they're going to a rival which can afford to buyout their comparatively meagre bonus pots.