What protest? Wall Street workers still expect lavish bonuses despite financial gloom



The majority of Wall Street bankers think they deserve to keep their bonuses or even have them rise this year, research reveals.

While for many Americans there is little prospect of their incomes rising with the cost of living, almost all financial workers on Wall Street are looking forward to a lavish pay-out for 2011.

Just eight per cent are not expecting a bonus this year, while almost two in three think they deserve for their extra pay to remain the same or rise, according to the survey.

Hopeful: Despite poor economic conditions and performance, workers on Wall Street still expect bonuses this year

As the government continues to struggle with the economy, the findings are sure to rile the thousands gathered in the financial district to protest bankers’ pay.

The survey of almost 1,100 Wall Street professionals, by jobs website eFinancial Careers, found that 36 per cent expected bonuses to rise.

In total, more than six in ten expected extra pay to either stay the same or rise – just slightly fewer than the seven in ten who said the same when surveyed this time last year.

‘Even amid an atmosphere of slower recruitment activity and targeted layoffs, Wall Street will continue to be a pay-for-performance culture,’ the report said.

Despite their optimism, increased bonuses seems unlikely on Wall Street. Last year, the average bonus fell nine per cent.

Among those working for hedge funds and boutique banks, about half expected a rise in their bonus. Workers at big banks were less hopeful, bringing the overage figures down, possibly due to recent layoffs.

It was announced last month that Bank of America plans to make 30,000 employees redundant in an attempt to cut $5 billion per year.

UBS said it would slash 5,000 jobs, while Barclays announced it is to axe 3,000.

Cash: While ordinary Americans cannot expect wages to rise to cover the increase in cost of living, most bankers feel they are entitled to extra pay

‘Employees at the large investment and commercial banks are definitely more negative around expectations this year and the next three years, and that reflects the reality of what the large banks are dealing with,’ Constance Melrose, managing director of eFinancialCareers North America told Bloomberg.



The figures were even more extreme across the Atlantic.

Nine out of ten London-based financiers expect a hefty bonus this year, according to the survey.

And nearly half of bank staff expect their 2011 windfall to be larger than last year’s – even though the eurozone debt storm has pummelled bank share prices.

The jobs market is equally dire, with official figures out tomorrow expected to show unemployment is at a 17-year high of more than 2.5million.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: ‘Banks have played a key part in bringing the economy back to the brink of recession so it’s astounding that bankers expect any bonuses, let alone bigger pay-outs.

