LAZARD was pushed into the red in its fourth-quarter of last year due to a slowdown in trading and a decision not to defer bonus pay-outs, the US investment bank revealed yesterday.
It reported a pre-tax loss of $3.4m (£2.15m) in the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $134m during the equivalent period in 2010.
But the bank said that its “disciplined” approach to accounting for staff costs was partly to blame for the loss.
Unlike many of its rivals, Lazard opted not to defer more of its bonus pay-outs to bankers this year in response to the weak economic climate. Instead, it deferred 20 per cent, the same as last year.
That meant that its expenses from paying staff was roughly flat in the quarter (up three per cent to $337m) while revenues slumped 23 per cent to $468.7m.
The investment bank was worst hit in its capital markets advisory business, which saw revenues fall by 59 per cent to $17.7m. Its M&A advisory business also saw top line income drop by over a third to $167m.
The restructuring division benefited from a rise in revenues, however, growing 58 per cent to $75.7m.
