Essygie / Flickr, CCBankers outside the Bank of England.Bankers in the City of London are expecting bonuses of up to £125,000 on average, according to a survey of 1,500 senior City employees by the recruitment firm Astbury Marsden.
Here are the numbers, according to the FT:
- Bonuses for bankers are expected to be up 21% to £124,680, or 60% of average salaries.
- Average base pay was up by 8% to £96,458.
- Median basic pay was up 6% to £85,000. (This was the first increase in median pay since 2011).
- A year ago, in 2013, bonuses were expected to be £102,930.
- Bonuses for private equity employees are expected to be £145,000 (115 per cent of the average salary).
The bonuses are being awarded before a new EU rule comes into effect on Jan. 1, which will limit bonuses to 100% of salaries (or 200% with shareholder approval). Banks have already been trying to get around those rules with new "role-based" payments or "top up" fees for bankers who would have earned more.
The bonuses will also be scrutinised by the FCA, which has warned banks not to reward executives whose behaviour was unethical or criminal. An RBS executive was arrested late on Dec. 19 as part of the ongoing investigation into whether traders manipulated the foreign currency exchange market. It is the first arrest in the case, according to the FT.