Bankers at one of the largest companies on Wall Street have complained about how small their bonuses are – after taking in between $40,000 and $45,000.
Junior bankers at Morgan Stanley seemed outraged after their bonuses were cut by tens of thousands of dollars.
Typically, they would receive payouts of between $70,000 and $100,000. This year’s bonus is said to be 30 percent of their annual salary of about $140,000.
The decline may be due to fewer business deals being closed during an economic slowdown.
America entered a recession after the US economy met the classic definition of a downturn by contracting for the second quarter in a row.
Bankers at one of the biggest companies on Wall Street have complained about how small their bonuses are – after taking in between $40,000 and $45,000 (File image)
The past four years have seen quarterly GDP growth, showing the pandemic recession in early 2020 and the current contraction cycle
The consumer price index hit a four-decade high of 9.1 percent in June — an astonishing level of inflation for an economy apparently contracting
President Joe Biden denied that the country is in a recession and the White House has pushed the message that a recession must be officially declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research
Bankers attacked the mid-range bonuses on financial blog Wall Street Oasis, The New York Post reported.
One banker wrote: ‘What the hell is this??? Why would anyone choose to take such a huge HUGE discount.
“I just took home 44k. What the real f***.’
Meanwhile, another added: “That’s a *** bonus for what a top bank should be.”
US gross domestic product shrank 0.9 percent in the second quarter, after falling 1.6 percent in the first quarter. Two consecutive quarters of contracting GDP is the classic definition of a recession
The Fed has rapidly raised interest rates from near zero to a target range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent in 2022, in a bid to tackle rising inflation — but higher lending rates are also holding back economic growth
The economy has been adding jobs at a steady pace even as GDP shrinks, which some analysts point to by claiming the economy is not in recession
While two-quarters of shrinking GDP is the classic and informal definition of a recession, the White House has denied that the US meets the criteria for a recession, saying a panel of economists must officially declare the economy is no longer growing.
The Commerce Department confirmed in a report on Thursday that U.S. gross domestic product shrank 0.9 percent in the second quarter, after falling 1.6 percent in the first quarter.
Republican critics accused the administration of going against reality, with House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy saying in a speech, “You’d rather redefine a recession than restore a healthy economy.”
Earlier in July, Barclays bankers had similar complaints, suggesting the financial sector may be gearing up for some tighter bonuses.
Barclays analysts claimed freshman bonuses for this year were 40 percent of this year’s salary, up from 85 percent in 2021.
McCarthy shared a poster on Thursday showing Biden blames everything but his policies on the down economy, including COVID, Putin and supply chain problems.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell also denied that the country is in recession, ahead of Thursday’s release of the GDP report.
Employees at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are likely to find out about their bonuses next week.
Other users on the financial forum mocked the bankers for whining about the bonuses, which are close to the average annual salary for Americans.
The median salary across the country is $53,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wednesday’s GDP report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis is a preliminary estimate that is likely to be revised in the coming months.
The report pointed to weakness in the economy and noted that consumer spending slowed as Americans bought fewer goods.
Business investment plummeted and inventories fell as companies stopped stocking their shelves, cutting off 2 percentage points of GDP.
Higher borrowing rates, a result of the Federal Reserve’s series of rate hikes, have messed up housing construction, which shrank 14 percent year-on-year. Government spending also fell.
Those declines were partially offset by increases in exports and consumer spending, the report said.
For months, the US economy has been sending conflicting signals that have baffled economists and policymakers.
Inflation has continued to rise even as growth slows, evoking dark memories of ‘stagflation’ in the 1970s.
The job market is strong, with far more job openings across the country than there are people looking for work. It is a situation that should encourage strong wage growth, but wages have not been able to keep pace with inflation.
And consumers, whose spending accounts for nearly 70 percent of economic output, are still spending a lot, albeit at a slower pace.
MailOnline has contacted Morgan Stanley for comment.