Goldman Sachs and Bank of America pay their top EU bankers more than London ones
American investment banks in Europe pay well. Really well. They pay very well indeed in London, where they often match the pay on offer at their European rivals. And they pay particularly well at the top end of the scale. But London's bankers aren't always the best paid, even at the biggest banks.
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At Bank of America and Goldman Sachs for example, material risk-takers (MRTs for short - more on them below) were paid more in Europe than in London in 2024. That's a surprise. At other US banks, it was the opposite way around. And our salary and bonus report found that managing directors in London typically earn around 13% more than their counterparts in Europe.
What made European MRTs so well paid in 2024? It's likely to do with contrasting financial performance. Goldman Sachs, for example, saw revenue rise by 12% in Europe between 2024 and 2023. For its London-based subsidiary, however, revenue fell by 8%.
We've mapped US banks' pay for MRTs in Europe in 2024 below. MRTs are defined as people whose “professional activities have a material impact on the risk profile of the firm,” per the UK’s FCA. All data is derived from Pillar III filings for each of the banks.
The published data is a mix of investment bank-specific and general to the firm. Where possible, we’ve specifically broken out investment bank figures. Despite the name “investment bank”, the figures labelled as such refer to all front-office functions, including M&A, capital markets and sales & trading. Those figures don't include MRTs in control functions like risk and compliance, or pay for senior managers.
The following subsidiaries are referred to by the name of their parent companies below:
- Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE
- JPMorgan: J.P. Morgan SE
- Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley Europe Holding SE
- Citi: Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG
- Bank of America: BofA Securities Europe SA and Bank of America Europe D.A.C.
As the data above shows, the best-paid revenue-generating professionals in 2024 were to be found at Bank of America.
BofA took the crown from Goldman, which was the best-paying bank in Europe in 2023 - however, while Goldman's average MRT compensation declined between 2023 and 2024, BofA's skyrocketed. The European trend was not matched by what happened in London, where compensation generally rose across the board.
Much like in London, Goldman was very heavily weighted towards those who earned more than €5m ($5.5m). It had more people in this band than JPMorgan, despite having a fraction of the MRTs.
Much like Goldman in 2023, BofA paid its European MRTs substantially more than it paid its London ones.
Salaries and bonuses at Goldman Sachs’ European offices in 2024:
Number of regulated staff: There were 136 investment bank MRTs in Goldman Sachs’ European offices in 2024.
Average salary: The average Goldman investment bank MRT in Europe earned €853k in fixed compensation in 2024.
Average bonus: The average Goldman investment bank MRT in Europe earned €625k in variable compensation in 2024.
Average compensation: The average Goldman investment bank MRT in Europe earned €1.48m in compensation in 2024.
Bonus breakdown: The average Goldman MRT (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe earned just 13% of their bonus in cash (none deferred); 86% were in shares (86% deferred).
Deferred bonus: The average Goldman MRT’s (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) bonus was 74% deferred (all shares).
Average severance payment: Goldman fired 2 MRT (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe in 2023, who received no severance.
Changes in compensation, 2023 vs 2024: The number of investment bank MRTs was flat, from 136 to 136 MRTs. Average salaries went from €1m per head to €853k per head, a 15% decrease. Average bonuses went from €579k per head to €625k per head, a 7.9% increase. Compensation as a whole therefore went from €1.59m to €1.48m, a 7% decrease.
Distribution of staff earning over €1m:
Salaries and bonuses at JPMorgan’s European offices in 2024:
Number of regulated staff: There were 217 investment bank MRTs in JPMorgan’s European offices in 2024.
Average salary: The average JPMorgan investment bank MRT in Europe earned €716k in fixed compensation in 2024.
Average bonus: The average JPMorgan investment bank MRT in Europe earned €670k in variable compensation in 2024.
Average compensation: The average JPMorgan investment bank MRT in Europe earned €1.4m in compensation in 2024.
Bonus breakdown: The average JPMorgan MRT (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe earned just 22% of their bonus in cash (21% deferred); 78% were in shares (79% deferred).
Deferred bonus: The average JPMorgan MRT’s (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) bonus was 66% deferred (7% cash, 93% shares).
Average severance payment: JPMorgan fired 11 MRTs (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe in 2024, who received €1.3m each in severance, on average.
Changes in compensation, 2023 vs 2024: The number of investment bank MRTs rose from 193 to 217, a 12% increase. Average salaries went from €786k per head to €716k per head, a 9% decrease. Average bonuses went from €618k per head to €670k per head, a 8% increase. Compensation as a whole therefore went from €1.40m to €1.38m, a 7% decrease.
Distribution of staff earning over €1m:
Salaries and bonuses at Morgan Stanley’ European offices in 2024:
Number of regulated staff: There were 74 investment bank MRTs in Morgan Stanley’s European offices in 2024.
Average salary: The average Morgan Stanley investment bank MRT in Europe earned €568k in fixed compensation in 2024.
Average bonus: The average Morgan Stanley investment bank MRT in Europe earned €711k in variable compensation in 2024.
Average compensation: The average Morgan Stanley investment bank MRT in Europe earned €1.3m in compensation in 2024.
Bonus breakdown: The average Morgan Stanley MRT (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe earned just 22% of their bonus in cash (none deferred); 78% was in shares (73% deferred).
Deferred bonus: The average Morgan Stanley MRT’s (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) bonus was 57% deferred (all shares).
Average severance payment: Morgan Stanley fired 2 MRTs (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe in 2024, who received €150k each in severance, on average.
Changes in compensation, 2023 vs 2024: The number of investment bank MRTs fell from 86 to 74, a 14% decrease. Average salaries went from €543k per head to €568k per head, a 4.6% increase. Average bonuses went from €443k per head to €711k per head, a 60% increase. Compensation as a whole therefore went from €986k to €1.3m, a 32% increase.
Distribution of staff earning over €1m:
Salaries and bonuses at Citi’s European offices in 2024:
Number of regulated staff: There were 67 investment bank MRTs in Citi’s European offices in 2024.
Average salary: The average Citi investment bank MRT in Europe earned €504k in fixed compensation in 2024.
Average bonus: The average Citi investment bank MRT in Europe earned €457k in variable compensation in 2024.
Average compensation: The average Citi investment bank MRT in Europe earned €961k in compensation in 2024.
Bonus breakdown: The average Citi MRT (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe earned just 24% of their bonus in cash (none deferred); 76% was in shares (70% deferred).
Deferred bonus: The average Citi MRT’s (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) bonus was 53% deferred (all shares).
Average severance payment: Citi fired 7 MRTs (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe in 2024, who received €3.0m each in severance, on average.
Changes in compensation, 2023 vs 2024: The number of investment bank MRTs fell from 73 to 67, a 8% decrease. Average salaries fell from €553k per head to €504k per head, a 9% decrease. Average bonuses went from €462k per head to €457k per head, a 1% decrease. Compensation as a whole therefore went from €1.02m to €961k, a 6% decrease.
Distribution of staff earning over €1m:
Salaries and bonuses at Bank of America’s European offices in 2024:
Number of regulated staff: There were 79 investment bank MRTs in BofA’s European offices in 2024.
Average salary: The average BofA investment bank MRT in Europe earned €859k in fixed compensation in 2024.
Average bonus: The average BofA investment bank MRT in Europe earned €876k in variable compensation in 2024.
Average compensation: The average BofA investment bank MRT in Europe earned €1.73m in compensation in 2024.
Bonus breakdown: The average BofA MRT (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe earned 14% of their bonus in cash (none deferred); 77% was in shares (100% deferred); and 9% was in "share-linked instruments" (7% deferred).
Deferred bonus: The average BofA MRT’s (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) bonus was 78% deferred (99% shares).
Average severance payment: BofA fired 4 MRTs (including, but not limited to, the investment bank) in Europe in 2024, who received €1.1m each in severance, on average.
Changes in compensation, 2023 vs 2024: The number of investment bank MRTs fell from 169 to 79, a 53% decrease. Average salaries went from €645k per head to €859k per head, a 33% increase. Average bonuses went from €586k per head to €876k per head, a 49% increase. Compensation as a whole therefore went from €1.23m to €1.73m, a 41% increase.
Distribution of staff earning over €1m:
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