Bankers braced for bonus day blues
Bankers at Dresdner Kleinwort and Merrill Lynch will today find out their bonus for this year in what will be the last time the banks make the payments to staff before coming under new ownership.
Today’s bonus payouts by the banks will be the last to many staff as substantial job cuts are expected at Dresdner Kleinwort and Merrill Lynch in 2009, when Commerzbank and Bank of America complete their takeovers.
At Merrill Lynch, which will officially become part of Bank of America on January 1, staff at the bank’s London office were tense this morning as rumours circulated about what sort of bonus they could receive.
One Merrill Lynch banker speaking to Financial News outside the bank’s offices this morning, said: "It is all rumour and counter-rumour. I haven't heard anything. I suppose I had better go back inside to see if I've had a phone call about it. You could cut the tension with a knife in there. I think it is fun."
A second Merrill employee, who said he had been with the firm for six months, said he had heard people were receiving something, even if it was a small amount. He added: "It is nothing exciting, because everyone knows the bonus pool is less this year, and there has been guidance on what to expect."
Another said: "The top people they want to stay will get rewarded, but for the rest there isn't likely to be anything. This year bonuses aren't a priority, people are more worried about keeping their job."
Dresdner Kleinwort staff are also due to be told what bonus payment they will receive today- for many, this will be the last time they are paid by the bank, as the Commerzbank takeover is expected to lead to large-scale job cuts in the investment banking business.
At the Dresdner Kleinwort office, many desks appeared unoccupied and there were few entries or departures through the bank's revolving doors.
A banker from JP Morgan, which has an office opposite Dresdner's office, said: "I don't think it will be champagne and smiles. There won't be a lot, but you never know."
Dresdner Kleinwort and Merrill Lynch declined to comment for this article.
-- write to mturner@efinancialnews.com or hwilson@efinancialnews.com
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