Bank of America bonuses are out. They may be moderately good
It's bonus day at Bank of America. People at the bank are being informed of their numbers moment by moment. It's too early to say exactly what they're like, but the vibe seems moderately good. Bank of America is not commenting.
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In markets, sources say BofA's bonuses are "ok." The pool is up, but only by a small amount. There's more differentiation between strong and poor performers. One London insider confirmed that they are "moderate." Asian bonuses at BofA are thought to be strong relative to the US and EMEA.
In investment banking, where Reuters suggested in December that BofA's bonus pool was up 20% on last year, people may be more pleased, although we cannot confirm that this has come to pass.
Pre-Christmas, BofA people told us they were expecting a wild 59% increase in their bonuses. This seems unlikely.
Bank of America's global markets team generated record revenues last year. However, the bank is squeezing compensation costs as it throttles hiring and tries to do more with AI. "Headcount remains our key driver of expense from compensation and benefits to real estate and technology," said CFO Alastair Borthwick, speaking during the bank's fourth quarter investor call.
In a seeming vote against bonuses, Bank of America lost Kal El Wahab, its EMEA head of linear rates trading, to Bluecrest in Dubai earlier this month. Speaking to Semafor at Davos, CEO Brian Moynihan said investment banking pipelines are full but that although regulations are lifting, "the real best time to be a banker is when the economy’s decent."
Profits in BofA's markets business rose 9% last year. In global banking, which includes corporate and investment banking, they were down 2%.
At Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, people appear to have been paid well in the front office but not so well elsewhere.
Photo by Marieke Verhoeven on Unsplash
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