Banking MDs on bonus disappointment: "No one is ever happy"

If you've been told your bonus for 2025 and it was below the number you desired, then - hey - welcome to the club. When we asked people to share bonus expectations late last year, expected increases of 40% or above were the norm. Instead, the reality seems to have been an increase of circa 10%. 

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People communicating the numbers say it's been an unedifying bonus round as a result.

"Most people on my team were up by a reasonable amount, but not one of them was positive about their bonus," complains a trading desk head at major bank in London.  "People really love to moan," he adds. "They seem to benchmark themselves to the once in a generation superstar and to think they're owed the same amount."

Pay charts released by European banks (and by US banks' European arms) highlight the fact that while many people in banking are paid well, some are paid stratospherically. At Goldman Sachs in London, for example, a mysterious group of 13 people always seems to earn over $9.4m each. At Barclays last year, three people earned over $16m. 

These are the outliers. 

Somehow, expressing unhappiness with any lesser bonus has become the norm. "No one is ever happy," says one banking managing director (MD) at a US bank. "I would be surprised if you find anyone who tells you their bonus was good." 

Dissatisfaction as the default stance can grind you down. As ex-Goldman Sachs equity derivatives MD-turned leadership coach Michael Sloyer wrote here two years ago, the constant quest for a higher bonus suggests a fragile ego addicted to extrinsic valuation. Nothing will ever feel good enough.

Equally, though, failing to object to a subpar bonus can set you up for a repeat next year. "You don't want to become known as someone whose bonus lands well regardless of its size," says the desk head. "You do need to complain when your bonus is average or poor." 

The fundamental difficulty is therefore assessing whether your bonus was any good in the first place. This in turn depends upon choosing the correct comparators. "People often have somewhat skewed opinions about themselves. They compare apples to oranges," agrees Matthias Schwarz, the former head of EMEA credit trading at Bank of America, and founder of coaching firm Career Capital One.

The complexity of the problem explains why expressing dissatisfaction in all scenarios can seem optimal. If you've been underpaid, you won't seem happy with little; if you've been overpaid, you would happily have accepted even more. If you've been paid accurately, maybe you know something about your talents that they don't. 

However, MDs say persistent ingratitude doesn't go unnoticed. "If you have a good bonus, say 'Thank you'," commands Schwarz. "If you complain when your bonus is good, it only makes you look stupid," confirms the desk head. 

Complaining in a bonus meeting can, in any case, be ineffective. "It's like receiving a red card when you're playing football," says one MD. "You can scream and shout as much as you like but it won't change anything and you'll just seem annoying."

Schwarz says the best approach is instead to set up a follow-up meeting to converse about the, 'Why and the What.' - Why were you paid less than you'd expected for the last year and what can be done about it in the year to come. "It's futile to complain after the fact," says Schwarz. You need to focus on making amends before bonuses are announced in 2027.

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