Deutsche Bank is cutting its investment banker bonuses by 40% in the wake of an industry-wide deterioration in deal-making and debt, and equity issuance stemmed from rising interest rates and an uncertain economic outlook, the Financial Times (FT) reported Friday, citing people with knowledge on the matter.
The financial institution’s investment banking revenue of €2.37B ($2.57B) slid 10% in Q3 vs. Q2. Overall, though, DB’s after-tax profit gained both Q/Q and Y/Y as its cost-cutting and restructuring efforts pay off.
The sizable reduction in the bank’s advisory pool, meanwhile, was in stark contrast to the upcoming increased payouts for its fixed-income traders.
This is just as traders at the fixed-income trading unit will receive higher incentive pay after revenue for the division increased in Q3 and is expected to continue growing in Q4.
When looking at the investment banking industry, slashing dealmaker pools appears to be the new norm. The FT noted global rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) are all poised to cut their investment banking pool by about 30%.
In mid-December, Goldman Sachs (GS) reportedly prepared to cut as many as 4,000 jobs.
