During a time of falling markets and a very tough economy, high unemployment and little investment, the news that Wall Street bonuses are to rise this year comes at a rather inopportune time.
According to a report by Reuters, Wall Street bonuses likely will rise this year despite the regulatory cloud hanging over compensation, after the financial industry recovered from the recession. The report suggests incentives at financial firms should rise from 2009 levels but remain below the record payouts of 2007.
The prediction is based on data from compensation consultant Johnson Associates.
The report said, "The pace of economic recovery, industry activity, business mix and evolving legislation are key bonus drivers for 2010. It’s not all up across the board, however, as it’s suggested that bonuses will rise and fall by 15% depending on which firm one finance worker fins himself.
“Businesses that will likely see the biggest increases include prime brokerage, due to higher client balances; equities-based asset management, due to growth in assets; and high net worth units because of increased market stability, while areas set for the steepest bonus drops are fixed-income units at both investment and commercial banks, because of declines from strong 2009 results; and equities, because volatility and economic uncertainty have sapped the appetite for risk.”
The projections in the report were based on financial firms' second-quarter data as well as Johnson Associates proprietary information.
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