Senior technologists at JPMorgan in London say salaries are frozen

In what may yet prove the story of the industry in 2020, senior technologists at JPMorgan in London claim they were informed yesterday that salaries are being frozen for everyone above analyst, associate, or newly promoted vice president (VP) level.

JPMorgan isn't commenting on the claims. Sources say that existing vice presidents and above in technology will have their pay held steady this year, and that even people promoted from vice president to executive director won't receive an increase in base pay.

The alleged compensation freeze comes after JPMorgan CFO Jen Piepszak said in September that the bank is looking at the "electronification of everything" even while it tries to make its technology spending more efficient. It also follows an excellent year for JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank (CIB), with profits up 30% year-on-year in the first nine months. 

With salaries apparently frozen, there are fears that technology bonuses will be reduced despite the CIB's strong performance year-to-date. 

Insiders in other divisions of JPMorgan say their salaries have yet to be determined for next year. "Our banking salary guidance is not released from NYC before December," said one senior banker. "But in general, I'm expecting a salary freeze across the industry." 

There may be some exceptions to this: UBS, for example, announced last month that it's hiking salaries for senior staff, while reducing bonuses commensurately. 

Photo by Chris Greninger on Unsplash

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