Monday’s Headlines: Wall Street Pay Will Be in the Dumps, But Bankers Will Not Complain

Wall Streeters can expect their pay to be the worst since 2008, as lower trading revenue, slow deal making, regulation pressure and worries about the global economy are exasperated by poor stock prices and anti-Wall Street protests, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Goldman Sachs partners should expect to see their pay drop by at least half since last year, and some in fixed-income trading will have their comps down by 60 percent. Morgan Stanley bankers should see their pay down by 30 to 40 percent.

Each quarter, the banks set aside a percentage of revenue for benefit costs, the article states. Through the first three quarters of 2011, total compensation and benefit costs at 34 publicly traded financial firms tracked by The Wall Street Journal were on pace for a record-high $172 billion. The calculation is based on the companies' reported results and projections by analysts. But industry observers expect that when all is said and done for the year, many firms will adjust their benefit costs sharply downward, partly to appease shareholders frustrated by soft profits.

Despite the dismal figures, irate U.S. bankers -- fearful of their losing their jobs -- are unlikely to consider legal action like their colleagues in London, The New York Post writes.

 

Other News:

Financial firms are planning to cut jobs at a pace faster than expected. [Reuters]

Wall Street braces for dismal Q4 earnings. [DealBook]

Philipp Hildebrand resigned as head of the Swiss central bank after a currency transaction by his wife dented the credibility of the franc’s chief guardian. [Businessweek]

Capital shut its brokerage operations, which employed 100. [Investment News]

RBS will announce plans to sell or close its cash equities unit, which employs 1,200 people. [Bloomberg]

RBS CEO of global banking and markets John Hourican will receive a special bonus of $6.2 million. [Financial Times]

Financial companies in Britain lost 10 percent of their jobs since the Lehman collapse. [Businessweek]

Asia-focused hedge fund Penta Investment Advisers will return money to outside investors after it dropped to below $2 billion. [Bloomberg]

The average value of private equity deals last year fell to $106 million from $158 million. [Financial Times]

The real estate unit of the French insurer Axa raised $3.2 billion for a fund to invest in offices and shopping centers in Europe. [Financial Times]