Bankers on track for record bonuses this Christmas
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City bankers could take home a bumper payout in time for Christmas following a year of record dealmaking and capital raising activity.
With many city banks gearing up for bonus discussions in the coming weeks industry experts have predicted that bonuses could reach their highest level in over a decade, the Telegraph first reported. It comes after investment banks performed strongly during the pandemic with market chaos causing a flurry of dealmaking activity, mergers and floats.
Barclays Bank landed profits of nearly £7bn in the first nine months of the year after the company’s investment arm was inundated with activity.
Barclays’ chief executive Jes Staley said that bankers would be rewarded handsomely after the bank landed profits of nearly £7bn in the first nine months of the year following increased activity for its investment arm.
“Variable compensation, or the bonus pool, that’s very much tied to the performance of the corporate and the investment bank and I think you’ll see variable compensation higher this year given that they’ve generated record profits,” Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley said on Bloomberg Television.
While multinational investment bank JP Morgan declined to comment on staff pay a spokesperson told City A.M. that speculation bonuses would rise on the back of a record year in Banking was reasonable.
Philippa O’Connor, PwC’s pay specialist, also predicted huge payouts in comments made to The Telegraph: “For many global banks this could be the biggest bonus outcome year since the financial crisis.
“The level of percentage increases for bank pools this year will vary significantly. That said, we anticipate that increases this year of 20pc or potentially more in some cases will not be unusual,” O’Conner continued.
UK financial services companies completed £166bn worth of deals in the first eight months of the year.
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