UK
Big bonuses at GS, small ones everywhere else?
21 September 2007
Our analysis suggests bankers at Goldman are on track for bonuses twice as high as those at rival firms.
Following this week's third quarter results and assuming the fourth quarter doesn't contain any nasty surprises, we calculate that the average Goldman banker is set to receive total compensation of £374k this year.
By comparison, bankers at Lehman can count on a meagre-ish £168k, and those at Bear Stearns can expect an all but microscopic £134k.
The figures are derived from each bank's nine-month compensation and benefits total, extrapolated over the whole year, and then divided by the number of employees they have now.
With both Lehman and Bear expected to make further redundancies before the end of the year, their averages may yet rise slightly – which gives their bankers all the more reason to ditch people soon.
Roaring ahead at Rothschild
Meanwhile, Rothschild's M&A-focused bankers are also doing rather well for themselves. The bank's annual report for the year ending March 31st 2007 shows each employee receiving average annual compensation of £287k. European M&A hit a record $1.8 trillion during the first three quarters of 2007 according to analysis by Thomson Financial quoted by Dow Jones Newswires. However, difficult times may be ahead - the same analysis shows M&A volumes slumping in the third quarter.
