Lunchtime Links: Goldman bankers are 20k less well off than they might have been
Good news: first quarter profits at Goldman Sachs are up 91% on this time last year, and the firm has hired 600 people since December 31st.
Bad news (if you work at Goldman and are short term greedy): the average Goldman man/woman is on track to earn $27k (18k) less for the first quarter than they would have done had compensation been accrued at a rate similar to previous years (ie. 50% of revenues instead of the current 43%). And if you work in the City, of course, an additional 1.6k will disappear in this year's higher rate of income tax.
Needless to say, no one will be shedding any tears. Overall, Goldman's results reflect another wondrous quarter. Equities trading revenues soared, FICC revenues increased on par with rivals, and earnings per share blasted through analysts' estimates.
However, as one analyst points out to Bloomberg, today's earnings are all about the past. The question is what happens next.
For the moment, one thing is certain: Goldman is feeling pressure on pay: one of the first things it stresses in its press release is the fact that 1st quarter compensation accruals have never before been this low as a percentage of revenues.
Lloyd Blankfein's Sunday voicemail to Goldman staff. (Politico)
Angela Merkel wants to take action against Goldman Sachs too. (Guardian)
Fabrice Tourre is on paid leave with no end date. (Financial News)
The three key points of Goldman's defence. (BusinessInsider)
At first it seemed Buffett had paid a rich price to help Goldman. Since then, he's been sitting in Omaha, Nebraska, cashing checks for $500 million a year. (Bloomberg)
Moody's and S&P gave the Abacus deal a triple A rating; less than a year later, 100% of the bonds had been downgraded. (Wall Street Journal)
RBC is expanding its European rates trading platform, has hired ex-BNP banker (Bloomberg)
RBS has hired a Kremlin advisor (Emerging markets)
Now SocGen's accusing an ex-trader of stealing code. (Bloomberg)
Lib Dems are targeting banks to build momentum. (Reuters)
Jesse Bhattal is heartened by the number of people who left Lehman and now want to work for Nomura (Wall Street Journal)
Wolfgang Schauble: "Greece is just as systemically important as a major bank,"
