US banks’ bonuses are 50 per cent bigger than European firms’
US BANKS are more generous with their bonuses than their European counterparts, according to research published yesterday.
London-based directors of banks from each side of the Atlantic receive similar salaries, but bonuses vary by as much as 50 per cent.
The figures, from pay data website Emolument.com, put salaries at £155,000 at European banks and £168,000 at US banks – meaning London directors at US banks get 8.4 per cent more.
By contrast bonuses come in at an average of £120,000 in European banks at £180,000 for directors at US banks – 50 per cent more than their European counterparts.
“Although directors are not usually code staff directly affected by the upcoming EU bonus cap regulation, it seems that European banks are pre-empting the new rules by capping bonus-to-salary ratios across senior titles,” said Emolument.com boss Robert Benson.
“We are eagerly waiting to see if this will impact the competitiveness of European banks in the coming years.”