Hard Times on Wall Street: Bonus Season Blues
On one hand: Wall Street is back! Morgan Stanley and Bank of America may post their biggest revenues in history this year. But don't be fooled. It's a hard holiday season for the little people. (The bankers.)
Despite the success of their employers, investment bankers themselves are being subjected to positively ruthless cuts to their bonuses. It's as if hard work is not appreciated? Here in America? Any more?
Bankers at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. say they are being told bonus pools are likely to be down between 10% to 25%. Some divisions, like proprietary trading, could be down as much as 50%, bankers said...
One Citi banker said colleagues who have been coming out of compensation meetings in the past two weeks "look like they've been hit by a truck."
A truck. Not a Lamborghini, which those Citi bankers may not even be able to afford this year, in cash. According to another, more devastating line that was actually printed in this newspaper story, "demand for weekly yacht rentals in the Caribbean this winter is 'quite poor.'"
When will the big money "Trickle Down" to the workers of Wall Street, eh! ¡Revolucion!
