The move comes as banks pay record fines and are facing tighter regulation under the Dodd-Frank laws for the roles they played in the mortgage crisis and subsequent Great Recession. It’s seen as an attempt to stem defections of younger staffers who are gravitating toward the hedge fund and private equity arenas.
Junior analysts at Barclay’s, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and other big banks are looking at salary hikes of 10% to 20% or more this year, with some banks contemplating increased bonus pools as well.
The raises are understandably not sitting well with many mid-level bankers as the compensation gap between them and their junior colleagues starts to narrow. At the same time, not everyone at these institutions is feeling the pinch, with some C-suite and senior executives still looking at seven-figure comp packages.