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U.S. investment banks are poised to cut more jobs if economic uncertainty continues to weigh on dealmaking in the months ahead, according to analysts and recruiters. Larger banks are quicker to reduce headcount, while boutiques could follow later, said Chris Connors, principal of Johnson Associates, a compensation consultant. “If the pipeline does not materialize quickly,…

Senior investment bankers are being offered lucrative pay packets that will keep them at their firms for years. Can they stave off the appeal of private credit and private equity? Top executives at some of the leading Wall Street, European and boutique investment banks have been handed retention packages worth tens of millions of dollars…

Investment banking activity had picked up in recent months, with Wall Street executives cheering the business-friendly tone of President Donald Trump’s administration. But U.S. mergers and acquisition activity in the first two months of 2025 has seen just 1,603 deals signed through Friday, making it the slowest pace by volume since 2009, Dealogic data showed.…

Bankers are feeling short-changed despite a year of stellar profits While the 2024 bonus round has brought cheer to many bankers, not all were rewarded in a buoyant year for investment banking fees. “This was the year when money moved upwards, rather than the hyper-focus on juniors as in previous years,” said Alan Johnson, founder…

Bonuses in the financial services industry were expected to soar anywhere from 5% to 35%, the best performance since 2021, a report by Johnson Associates found. “The economy was much better, and then markets were up dramatically,” said Alan Johnson, the company’s founder, explaining why bonuses were expected to surge. “I think people were expecting…

“There’s a more optimistic environment in private equity and financial services in general, but we’re not seeing it translate immediately into staffing build-outs,” said Chris Connors, a principal at compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates. “We’re seeing tepid hiring, with head counts flattish.” In a Nov. 12 report, Johnson Associates said 2024 bonuses in private equity…

How big a pay bump bankers and traders get will depend on the type of work they do. Those who work in the hot market for bond sales are set to see their bonuses jump by as much as 35%, according to a study by Johnson Associates, an industry pay consultant. Those who help companies sell stock…

According to a third-quarter update from Johnson Associates, private credit managers are likely to see a 10 per cent jump in their year-end payout compared with 2023. In contrast, private equity incentives are expected to be up five per cent. With banking regulation shifting momentum to private credit firms, ongoing partnerships among major banks and…

With the exception of retail and commercial banking, every major subsector in financial services has grown its revenue, according to the survey from Johnson Associates Inc. “Firms are in a strong financial position to do what they haven’t been able to do since 2021 – reward their professionals with larger bonuses,” said Alan Johnson, managing…

Wall Street firms are expected to pay heftier bonuses for this year, the first increase since a bumper year in 2021, according to a report by compensation consultancy Johnson Associates. “This year has been surprisingly good, and the industry is quite optimistic about 2025, especially with the potential of announcing more M&A deals,” he said,…