MS caps cash bonuses at $125K

So bullish for 2015!!!!

don't hold your breath.

"The New York-based bank, run by Chief Executive James Gorman, will defer the portion of any bonus past $125,000 until December 2012 and December 2013, according to one of the people familiar with the matter."

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

We need at least 10 people to have the same response to the article, but each person trying to be more clever. Who wants to top inododo?

bonuses?!, we don't need no stinkin bonuses!

I-Bankers should just be happy to be able to say "I am a I-Banker"... much like a "model" who pays to have her "head shots" and say "I am a model at O'gradys' on Friday nite.

Ah just like the old days, a guy in suit picks up ugly girl at bar. The guy pretends to be rich, the girl pretends to be hot.

Carry on.

Not gonna be a crash as much as everyone here seems to be hoping for. That $125K limit doesn't impact deferred bonuses from the last 3-5 years (depending on the ibank) that are going to vest. Sure the $125K ceiling for 2011 is going to hurt but people are still going to get payouts that are multiples of that once you add back bonuses that were deferred since 2007-08.

>Ah just like the old days, a guy in suit picks up ugly girl at bar. The guy pretends to be rich, the girl pretends to be hot.

Like that proverbial dirty hairy ape at the bar

yea, most are deferred stock.. . HOw are those Financial stocks doing since 07-08'? down what 40-50%..80%?

the 07 and 08 timeframes aren't relevant. Look at 9 and 10 if you want to be honest about the situation. 07, 08 has long been liquidated.

I don't know that many bankers. But FWIW, I only heard personal-outlook-related grumbling from a lone banker circa 2009. Now, it's pretty steady. I personally see that which is being reported: more than the actual income, it seems the average banker's spirit about the brightness of the future has been broken.

tommylee.... just go buy some bank stocks.. and then some calls on them... that's called making your "own bonus." Sorta like make you own happy, or "turn that frown upside down," just change the latitude and attitude.....

IF we JUSt all think NYC RE will go UP.... > it will.... now hold that thought while I make a sandwich

>I don't know that many bankers. But FWIW, I only heard personal-outlook-related grumbling from a lone banker circa 2009. Now, it's pretty steady.

So you have a limited sample to start with, and are hearing complaints more frequently from one guy.

Useful.

don't you ever stop?

>columbiacounty
5 minutes ago
ignore this person
report abuse

>don't you ever stop?

Your silence is noted.

I would rather get stock at these depressed levels. My fingers are crossed I do.

@jason10006 - you're a dumb ass. if you got cash, and wanted stock, you could just go into the market and buy it.

>@jason10006 - you're a dumb ass. if you got cash, and wanted stock, you could just go into the market and buy it.

With after-tax dollars?

Goldman's stock is down partially because it spent MORE than it made on stock buybacks... to offset all the stock it had to give away instead of cash bonuses.

Dog chasing it's tail... either way does not sound good for the employees.

"@jason10006 - you're a dumb ass. if you got cash, and wanted stock, you could just go into the market and buy it."

No, you misunderstand me. Of COURSE I would rather have cash, duh. I am saying I would rather have restricted stock granted NOW than any of the choices presented in the article - deferred stock (at later years' prices) or deferred cash. Options at these depressed levels would be better than RSUs.

And yes I know you could buy LEAPS if you had cash, I am assuming straight cash is not an option. Its never been for me, not since 2007.

>
somewhereelse
about 3 hours ago
ignore this person
report abuse
Goldman's stock is down partially because it spent MORE than it made on stock buybacks... to offset all the stock it had to give away instead of cash bonuses.
Dog chasing it's tail... either way does not sound good for the employees.

Agree, poor poor Goldman Sachs employees.

Things are improving. BoA will pay out up to $150K:

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-26/bank-of-america-said-to-limit-cash-bonuses-for-investment-bankers-traders.html

When asked about the employee reaction James Gorman(CEO) who received a package this year of $800,000 base salary, deferred cash , restricted stock worth over 5.1 million and other incentives said that anyone not happpy should leave because life is too short.

Well look on the bright side for them - they get to pay less taxes.

dont forget that options granted in 2008 are vesting now deep in the money

really? what stock price are you basing that on?

"dont forget that options granted in 2008 are vesting now deep in the money"

Citi was at $28 back in Jan 2008, it is now $31. Not really "deep in the money" though. Maybe Jan 2009? It was trading at $4, now up to $31. Now that's deep in the money!

Oh wait, there was a 1:10 split. So from $2.8 to $31 since 2008 and $0.4 to $31 since 2009 -- woohoo! Wait, whaddaya mean 1:10 means reverse split? As in $280 down to $31 and $40 down to $31? Oh shit!

http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/100000/40000/8000/200/148242/148242.strip.zoom.gif

"Citi Joins The Cost-Cutting Ranks By Slashing Bonuses Up To 70%"

"Bloomberg's Trish Regan (yes, she is no longer at CNBC), has just announced that the bank which earlier announced it is shutting down its catastrophic prop trading desk (at which point shreholders let out a sigh of relief), has proceeded with slashing banker pay by 30% for overall comp and some bonuses by as much as 70%. This follows earlier announcements by Bank of America and Morgan Stanley which earlier said they would limit cash bonuses to $150K for senior positions.

At the end of the day, the biggest losers are secondary, non-financial New York jobs (supposedly there are some: rat exterminators; strippers; limo drivers; food spitters also known as waiters?) as each banker jobs indirectly supports up to 3 downstream jobs. In other words between layoffs and comp cutting, the immediate impact will likely be to leave New York City, which is the farthest point on the economic procyclical receiving end, with hundreds of thousands of layoffs. Which incidentally, to the bizarro crazy scientists at the BLS, means that initial claims are about to go negative (with the traditional upward revision in the following week).

A chart showing average salaries in NYC for financial professionals and "all other" :

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/citi-joins-cost-cutting-ranks-slashing-bonuses-70

Trading volume is down. The money isn't there and competitors have no opportunities to ramp up to. What do you expect?

Lower revenue/profits are not the only reason comps are going down. Pressure from the government (public opinion) and shareholders are going result in a continued decline in comps even if revenue/profits go back up a bit.

Gov't applied tons more pressure in 2008 and had more munition to back it up.

Riverside: "Gov't applied tons more pressure in 2008 and had more munition to back it up."

That is true, but if you think government pressure and public opinion is not a significant factor now, you would be wrong.

The pressure of a weak bottom line trumps all that.

Riversider, obviously! However, my point is that even if the bottom line goes back up a bit, expect the decline in comp to continue. Before 2008, if Wall Street had a bad year, people are generally optimistic that the following years will be better. I have not seen any of that optimism since.

Why is it an issue of sentiment rather than one of profitability, and talent supply and demand?