Rumours regarding pay for VPs in M&A

Following on from last month's rumours related to associate compensation, here's a quick follow-up on apparent pay levels for vice presidents in investment banks for 2009.

According to two well informed and reputable headhunters working in the M&A space, the range is broad, starting at around $450k for juniors in London and topping out at around $800k at Goldman (where the VP band is broader than elsewhere). At most other banks, the limit is reportedly $700k.

Rumour also has it that Deutsche VPs are particularly disgruntled with their packages, suggesting the bank is, in fact, less generous than its figures for pay per head suggest.

"Some people at Deutsche are feeling hard done by," says one senior M&A consultant. "Their comp was below the street, but not as bad as Citi," says another.