On Jan 22, one of the biggest investment banks in the world, Morgan Stanley, announced that it would be paying 50% higher payouts to its top-performing investment bankers. This makes it a rare occasion for investment banks to make their bonus payouts public. Moreover, Bloomberg mentioned that the senior investment bankers who have worked on India and Australia deals might witness a 30%-40% increase in their bonus payouts. However, the Morgan Stanley spokesperson in Hong Kong declined to comment on the news. But two Morgan Stanley bankers who knew the news mentioned it to Reuters.
The investment bank is doing it partly because of its robust performance in the Asian region and partly in an attempt to retain its top talent. According to Reuters, “Morgan Stanley ranked second last year in investment banking revenue in the APAC international and Japan regions, according to Dealogic data. It collected $355 million in fees in APAC, trailing JPMorgan, opens a new tab, and garnered $511 million in Japan, where it trailed Nomura”
The new agency further mentioned that the revenue of the bank’s institution, one key part of its sales and trading, rose by 51% globally in the fourth quarter, with the Asia business providing a strong boost to global growth.
