Press
For Bankers, 2020 Was a Bad Year to Have a Good Year
Wall Street banks have had a decent crisis so far. That is unlikely to translate to bumper bonus payments for bankers and traders, as chief executives and boards grapple with the optics of big payouts amid economic hardship on Main Street… According to New York-based compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates, banking industry bonuses are likely…
Read MoreWall Street Bonuses Likely to be Smaller This Year: Johnson Associates Analysis
“The pandemic is wreaking havoc on many parts of the U.S. economy this year, and the financial services industry is no exception,” said Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates… Even with an optimistic vaccine view, the pandemic will continue to weigh on the economy in 2021, but likely to a lesser degree than in…
Read MoreCOVID-driven Divide Emerges on Wall Street as Bonus Season Looms
“The majority of professionals at traditional and alternative asset firms as well as retail and commercial bankers will see smaller bonuses,” said the firm’s managing director, Alan Johnson. “Conversely, fixed income pros will be rewarded handsomely as uncertainty and high volatility contributed to record trading.” Hedge funders will have a check about 5 percent to…
Read MoreThe Giant Schism in Asset Management Paychecks
Experts see a small pay cut coming for executives at traditional asset managers, hedge funds, and private equity shops, particularly at smaller firms, given disruption in the underlying economy because of the coronavirus. The predicted five-to-10 percent compensation drop would make for two down years in a row, according to Johnson Associates’ third-quarter report on…
Read MoreFired Bankers’ Job Prospects Fade With Firms Under Pressure to Cut Costs
“Financial services and banking has too many people,” said Alan Johnson, the head of compensation-consulting firm Johnson Associates Inc., who predicts the industry’s headcount will shrink 10% by mid-2021 from its level as the pandemic began. “Next year is going to be very low hiring. There’ll be some layoffs.” One silver lining for job hunters…
Read MoreBanks Warn Bonuses Will Not Keep Pace with Profits
“This is the first time since the financial crisis that we’ve had such a dramatic difference between parts of the big banks,” said Alan Johnson, founder of New York-based pay consultancy Johnson & Associates, referring to the gulf in the performance of the banks’ retail business and their advisory and trading divisions… Johnson said issues…
Read MoreHartford to Offer Buyouts, Cut Hundreds of Staffers
Hartford anticipated about $70 million in severance costs in the third quarter, according to its second-quarter results. “They’re probably looking at getting whole head count down 10% or 12%” through both buyouts and layoffs, says Alan Johnson, president of compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates… The fact that the pandemic now appears likely to stretch well…
Read MoreWells Fargo Targeting Up to 25% of Workforce in Mass Layoffs
Alan Johnson, managing director of New York-based compensation consultant Johnson Associates Inc., said that Wells Fargo’s announced cost-cutting plan will hurt the firm from a recruitment perspective, including in asset management. “It’s not just the cost cutting, but years of instability at the bank,” since the 2016 sales scandal surfaced, he said. “It’s just one…
Read MoreEven Wall Street’s Biggest Bonuses Will Disappoint This Year
Equities traders at major U.S. banks largely succeeded in navigating the most tumultuous markets in a generation as the pandemic triggered lockdowns in March and sent stocks swooning, only to later rebound. But that performance was soon overshadowed by fixed-income trading. Federal Reserve intervention in credit markets helped banks arrange a slew of fundraisings for…
Read MoreMost Wall Street Bonuses Appear Set to Decline, Except for Sales and Trading Jobs, New Report Says
CNBC Squawkbox / August 10, 2020 CNBC Squawkbox covered Johnson Associates’ Compensation Estimates in their morning reporting. Most financial services incentives projected to decline, with sales and trading jobs the one bright spot.
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