• 14 Jan 2013 at 10:09 AM

Bonus Watch ’13: Deutsche Bank Is Mulling Over The Idea Of Paying A Li’l Less This Year, Would Appreciate Rivals Throwing Them A Bone And Doing The Same

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The Germans might take an ax to bonuses, cutting them by 20 percent, or they might not. According to CEO Anshu Jain, what it may come down to is whether or not other banks will help him out here by getting on board with the proposed reductions, as it would make DB look bad to be the only firm doling out tough love this year. Thanks in advance.

Deutsche Bank is considering reducing bonuses for investment bankers in Europe by as much as 20 percent on average for 2012, while bankers in New York will see smaller declines, said four people briefed on the matter. The cuts may range between 10 percent and 20 percent on average in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while bonuses in locations that performed better or where competition for staff is stronger will fall less, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the matter is private. The plans are preliminary and may change, they said. Deutsche Bank, based in Frankfurt, is reducing pay and overhauling compensation for its senior executives to help boost profitability as some regulators demand rewards be tied more closely to company performance. Co-Chief Executive Officer Anshu Jain, 50, has said that he sees a risk the bank may lose talented employees if competitors don’t follow suit.

Comments (10)

  1. 1
    Posted by Guest | January 14, 2013 at 10:55 AM

    Duh. That's how collusion works.

    - MLB, OPEC, et al.

  2. 2
    Posted by el invitado | January 14, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    Keeping your job is the new end of the year bonus.

    -A melancholy analyst

  3. 3
    Posted by Guest | January 14, 2013 at 11:27 AM

    Don't be afraid DB, what's the worst that could happen

    - UBS Compensation Quant

  4. 4
    Posted by Der Spiegel | January 14, 2013 at 1:40 PM

    Carl Schmidt, a managing director at the bank confirmed the reports, stating that he had been, " Shazared on his expected year end bonus" this despite meeting internal profit targets at his merger arbitrage desk.

  5. 5
    Posted by DB client base | January 14, 2013 at 1:43 PM

    Uh, what talented employees?

  6. 6
    Posted by guest | January 14, 2013 at 2:36 PM

    if DB's bonuses in the US are down less than the 10-20% predicted for europe, they'll be the bank talented people try to work for, not the other way around.

  7. 7
    Posted by DingALing | January 14, 2013 at 3:01 PM

    We'll join that cause

    -Credit Suisse

  8. 8
    Posted by Economist | January 14, 2013 at 6:59 PM

    Can we just skip 5 years to equilibrium where bonuses = severance?

  9. 9
    Posted by Dick Gorman | January 15, 2013 at 5:16 AM

    This would never happen at MS

  10. 10
    Posted by sohbet | May 12, 2013 at 6:19 PM

    vtelling these little stories, here's a good idea: Have a point. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener.