Lunchtime Links: JPMorgan's results confirm banks can't reduce compensation substantially even if they want to

JPMorgan would probably have liked to reduce compensation quite considerably at its investment bank last year.

Although the bank's results show profits across the organisation were

up 47% in the fourth quarter (thanks to a $2bn release of loan loss reserves), profits at the investment bank were down more than 20% year on year.

Margins at JPMorgan's investment bank are being squeezed. As a proportion of revenues, full year costs in the division rose from 55% in 2009 to 66% in 2010. Much of this was driven by an increase in non-compensation expenses, which were up 24% over the year.

In the circumstances, surely pay could have been cut to compensate? Apparently not.

Despite the margin squeeze, full year compensation expenditure at the investment bank also rose - by 4%, to 35% of the revenues (or 37% when the UK bonus tax is included).

All of this means that JPMorgan investment bankers, on average, will be paid fairly well for their efforts over the past 12 months.

Mean compensation per head for 2010 stands at $369k. Following the addition of 1,660 people last year, this is DOWN on a per head basis - but only by 3%, which is nothing compared predictions of double digit cuts.

Moreover, $355k compares very favourably to compensation per head at the investment bank in the recent past. In 2007 JPM paid $311k; in 2008 it paid $275k; last year it paid $379k.

How much of this goes to EMEA employees remains to be seen, however. EMEA revenues at JPMorgan's investment bank were down 25% last year. US revenues were up 1%. Asia Pac revenues were up 14%. London bankers are unlikely to be at the front of the compensation queue.

Goldman suffered $13.5bn in losses from "investing and lending" with its own funds in 2008. (Financial Times)

Bob Diamond is employed by a US subsidiary of Barclays. (Guardian)

KPMG's accountancy degree. (Telegraph)

Women are less interested than men in jobs where pay is defined by individual competition. (Physorg)

Wealthy people are more likely to binge drink. (Bloomberg)

Number of monetary financial institutions in the Euro Area and in the EU decreases further. (Alea)

At the very least, Bob Diamond's scarf should have been hand-woven by an up-and-coming textile artist probably still struggling to pay back their student grant. (Guardian)