Bond Traders Face Incredible Shrinking Bonus as Revenue Tumbles
- Fixed-income revenue dropped 11% so far in 2015 amid turmoil
- Weak bond trading puts pressure on firms to cut pay, jobs
Wall Street in New York City.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Equities traders, be kind to your brethren on the fixed-income desk: Their year started with such promise and is headed for a sour ending.
Traders of bonds, currencies and commodities are facing a shrinking year-end bonus pool after their revenue in the first nine months slumped 11 percent to $32 billion at the four biggest U.S. investment banks, according to results announced by the firms this week. That business started the year on decent footing, stumbled in the first half and then tumbled in the third quarter. Meantime, equities revenue surged 18 percent to $16.7 billion.