According to two experts consulted by the Wall Street Journal, year-end bonuses for Wall Street employees will fall this winter between 20 and 50 percent from last year, when the big investment houses awarded $33.2 billion in bonuses. That would put the total payouts somewhere between $16.6 billion on the low end of the spectrum and $26.5 billion on the high end. Bonus cuts will vary depending on the job description, with bankers and traders in hard-hit branches like structured credit taking the hardest hit.
From the Journal:
…[M]anaging directors could see their bonus fall 50% to $750,000 to $950,000, according to the Options Group. Their base pay is about $200,000 a year. Vice presidents with three years of experience in the same area could expect a 55% cut in bonus to $200,000 to $250,000, on top of a base of $130,000 to $150,000.
