http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...cnbonus114.xml
City bankers face bonus and job cuts
By Jonathan Sibun
Last Updated: 10:49am GMT 14/11/2007
Bankers in the City will see their pay hammered by the credit crunch, with bonus pools in some areas down 50pc amid growing fears of widespread job cuts ahead of Christmas.
Get the latest news and analysis on the credit crisis
Fixed-income divisions are set to be hardest hit
Forecasts of the bonus cuts come amid escalating rumours of redundancies following the US sub-prime mortgage meltdown and wider credit crisis, with UBS expected to reveal initial details of 350 job cuts across its fixed income, currencies and commodities division as early as today.
Fixed income bonuses will be particularly hard hit this year with the amount of money available likely to be down nearly a third across Europe's top investment banks, according to a report from Armstrong International, a London-based financial services recruitment firm.
The collapse of the structured credit and leveraged finance markets will see staff in those areas hit hard. Structured finance bankers should expect up to a 50pc decline while those working in the leveraged buyout market will see bonuses drop up to 35pc, according to Armstrong.
Bankers working in more profitable areas will also suffer, said Matthew Osborne, a partner at the recruitment firm. "This is a very large problem in a tiny space," he said. "There are many areas that are performing strongly, whether rates, commodities, M&A, equities or wealth management."
Despite growth in the size and profitability of many of those markets, only the bonus pool for those working in wealth management is forecast to rise year-on-year. Bankers working in equities, corporate finance and commodities, all of which have performed strongly, will see bonuses fall.
City workers face worries over bonuses in the countdown to Christmas
The bonus season kicks off with US banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in December and bankers fear there could be further redundancies ahead of the payouts. Merrill Lynch yesterday denied a report from US broadcaster CNBC that it would make a quarter of its fixed income staff redundant.
A spokesman said the bank was "not planning any significant job cuts". However, analysts believe Merrill will have to make staff redundant after the bank was forced to write down $7.9bn (£3.8bn) of assets in the third quarter. One analyst said: "When Merrill makes cuts, it tends to do so in a big way. The baby normally goes out with the bath water."
Citigroup, which is expected to write down $11bn of sub-prime assets in the fourth quarter, said it had combined its debt and equity capital markets divisions. The restructuring will see the bank's global credit chiefs, Mark Watson and Chad Leat, take other jobs at the company.
Some bankers will buck the trend with top performers in commodities and M&A likely to see big payouts. Armstrong said: "Those associated with this year's headline transactions will stand to achieve record payouts."
They are likely to include Merrill's Matthew Greenburgh and Andrea Orcel, the bankers behind Royal Bank of Scotland's €71bn (£50bn) takeover of ABN Amro.
City bankers earned an estimated £9bn in bonuses last year.
City bankers face bonus and job cuts
By Jonathan Sibun
Last Updated: 10:49am GMT 14/11/2007
Bankers in the City will see their pay hammered by the credit crunch, with bonus pools in some areas down 50pc amid growing fears of widespread job cuts ahead of Christmas.
Get the latest news and analysis on the credit crisis
Fixed-income divisions are set to be hardest hit
Forecasts of the bonus cuts come amid escalating rumours of redundancies following the US sub-prime mortgage meltdown and wider credit crisis, with UBS expected to reveal initial details of 350 job cuts across its fixed income, currencies and commodities division as early as today.
Fixed income bonuses will be particularly hard hit this year with the amount of money available likely to be down nearly a third across Europe's top investment banks, according to a report from Armstrong International, a London-based financial services recruitment firm.
The collapse of the structured credit and leveraged finance markets will see staff in those areas hit hard. Structured finance bankers should expect up to a 50pc decline while those working in the leveraged buyout market will see bonuses drop up to 35pc, according to Armstrong.
Bankers working in more profitable areas will also suffer, said Matthew Osborne, a partner at the recruitment firm. "This is a very large problem in a tiny space," he said. "There are many areas that are performing strongly, whether rates, commodities, M&A, equities or wealth management."
Despite growth in the size and profitability of many of those markets, only the bonus pool for those working in wealth management is forecast to rise year-on-year. Bankers working in equities, corporate finance and commodities, all of which have performed strongly, will see bonuses fall.
City workers face worries over bonuses in the countdown to Christmas
The bonus season kicks off with US banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in December and bankers fear there could be further redundancies ahead of the payouts. Merrill Lynch yesterday denied a report from US broadcaster CNBC that it would make a quarter of its fixed income staff redundant.
A spokesman said the bank was "not planning any significant job cuts". However, analysts believe Merrill will have to make staff redundant after the bank was forced to write down $7.9bn (£3.8bn) of assets in the third quarter. One analyst said: "When Merrill makes cuts, it tends to do so in a big way. The baby normally goes out with the bath water."
Citigroup, which is expected to write down $11bn of sub-prime assets in the fourth quarter, said it had combined its debt and equity capital markets divisions. The restructuring will see the bank's global credit chiefs, Mark Watson and Chad Leat, take other jobs at the company.
Some bankers will buck the trend with top performers in commodities and M&A likely to see big payouts. Armstrong said: "Those associated with this year's headline transactions will stand to achieve record payouts."
They are likely to include Merrill's Matthew Greenburgh and Andrea Orcel, the bankers behind Royal Bank of Scotland's €71bn (£50bn) takeover of ABN Amro.
City bankers earned an estimated £9bn in bonuses last year.
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