Row rages over bonuses for bankers as profits soar again
British Chancellor Alistair Darling yesterday criticised giant investment bank Goldman Sachs over the level of bonuses still being paid. Photo: Getty Images
The row over bankers' bonuses deepened yesterday when it emerged that bonuses for financial services employees may rise by 50pc to £6bn (€6.6bn) this year as profit at UK and US banks, brokerages and hedge funds rebounds, according to a Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) report.
UK finance workers received about £4bn (€4.4bn) for 2008, according to CEBR findings released in London yesterday.
The British government has tried to assuage voter anger over bankers' pay ahead of an election which has to be held sometime within the next eight months.
British Chancellor Alistair Darling yesterday criticised giant investment bank Goldman Sachs over the level of bonuses still being paid. "Some do, some manifestly don't, get it," Mr Darling said. "What happened with Goldman Sachs last week sends the wrong signals."
Benefits
Goldman said it had set aside $5.4bn (€3.6bn) for compensation and benefits in the third quarter, bringing the nine-month total to $16.7bn (€11bn) and on course to match the record bonus pool built up in the peak boom year of 2007.
The bonus debate comes at a time when some of the world's top banks are again posting record profits.
Yesterday, Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest lender, released third-quarter headline earnings more than a week early that beat analysts' expectations, although net profit got a one-off boost from tax rebates.
The US investment bank Morgan Stanley also returned to the black yesterday with quarterly profits of $757m, in the latest sign of a revival in the financial health of Wall Street's top financial institutions.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo, the fourth largest US bank by assets, posted record third quarter profits as revenues were more than double the bank's slowing credit costs and savings from its merger with East coast rival Wachovia began to materialise.
Profit almost doubled to $3.2bn. (Bloomberg)
Irish Independent
