Bankers expecting bigger bonuses this year

A majority of bankers expect to receive a bonus this year, despite the fact that most people are seeing their living standards stagnate.

Six out of ten (64 per cent) British bankers expect to receive a bonus on top of their salary this year, and over half (58 per cent) believe their bonuses will have increased compared to last year, according to a survey by eFinancialCareers.

A quarter (27 per cent) of those surveyed who expect a bonus believe it will be between 11 per cent and 30 per cent, with a third (35 per cent) saying they believe it will grow by no more than 10 per cent.

Most bankers (73 per cent) said they did not expect their bonus to be deferred, while two-thirds (61 per cent) said they believed that most of it would be immediately available as a cash payment.

Despite expectations of economic growth when Thursday’s GDP figures are released, the news that big bonuses are back comes against an economic backdrop where most people are still getting poorer.

All but one month of David Cameron’s three years in office has seen a fall in real earnings, and close to eighty per cent of the jobs created since June 2010 have been in industries where the average wage is less than £7.95 an hour. Employment among young people has failed to return to its pre-recession peak and a record number of people are also working part-time because they can’t get a full-time job.

Commenting on the survey, global managing director of eFinancialCareers James Bennett said:

“Returned confidence in the industry seems to be building, and it is encouraging to see a large proportion of financial professionals feeling more or significantly more confident about their prospects than they did last year. “However, bonus payouts still depend on a positive close to the year.”

It was confirmed yesterday that high earners delayed their bonuses to take advantage of the coalition’s 50p top rate tax cut