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- Wall Street banks are preparing to communicate 2023 compensation to staff.
- Bonuses will likely be flat or down from last year, which was markedly disappointing.
- Business Insider compiled a schedule for when each big bank will tell employees what they made.
Starting this week, the nation's biggest banks — from JPMorgan to Goldman Sachs, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America — will begin announcing year-end bonuses to staff.
Depending on how things shake out, the results can send financiers skipping down the hallway with glee or elicit such resentment that they walk out the door for good.
In 2021, it was the former — a banner year for M&A stuffed the pockets of Wall Street dealmakers. But 2022 saw a quick and steep downturn, making bonuses disappointing across the board — even those working in bright spots took a hit to keep others afloat.
The year 2023 was marked by industry-wide layoffs, bank failings, and slow but unsure disinflation that left Wall Street wary. So this year, many bank and hedge fund professionals can expect lackluster bonus checks for a second year in a row, according to Wall Street compensation expert Alan Johnson, with most remaining flat or slumping even further from 2022. There will be some exceptions, he said, including for equity underwriting, retail and commercial bankers at large institutions, and wealth management. His firm, Johnson & Associates, laid out these bonus predictions in November, as previously reported by Business Insider.
Bonus pools for traders are expected to be largely flat with some small bumps at Goldman and BofA, Bloomberg reported in late December.
People looking to leave a firm usually wait until their bonus checks clear, Johnson explained, and sometimes a disappointing bonus pushes someone to go. But there may be less of that this year, he said.
"There are many fewer job openings, and people are risk averse," he said.
Insider spoke to people with knowledge of the bonus announcements at big Wall Street banks to find out exactly when the news will hit. Bonus dates have been known to change at the last moment, but here's when the top banks are expected to announce year-end compensation:
Bank of America will communicate bonuses on January 26, people with knowledge of the plans told Business Insider.
Citi is expected to start communicating bonuses in the second half of January, sources familiar with the plans told Insider, but it wasn't yet clear which day. The bank, which is undergoing a massive restructuring, pays out bonuses at the end of the month, though timing depends on the global region.
Goldman Sachs begins revealing comp after it reports fourth-quarter earnings — that's Tuesday, January 16 this year — and continues the ensuing days, people familiar with the plans told Insider.
JPMorgan usually starts communicating bonuses the Tuesday after Martin Luther King Day, or January 16, according to people familiar with the plans.
Morgan Stanley is expected to communicate bonuses on January 10, people with knowledge of the plans told Business Insider.
Representatives for each of the banks declined to comment.
European banks like Barclays and UBS typically begin communicating comp in mid-February. Bonus payments tend to hit bank accounts a week or two after they are communicated.
With reporting by Hayley Cuccinello
Do you work on Wall Street? Are you concerned about your bonus or layoffs? Contact Emmalyse Brownstein at ebrownstein@businessinsider.com and Alex Morrell at amorrell@protonmail.com or (646)-768-1663.