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Wall Street’s bonus pool hit a record high last year as fatcat bankers raked in an eye-popping $244,700 windfall on average — an increase of 31% from 2024.
Data released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P DiNapoli found that financiers saw the annual number swell to a whopping $47.5 billion in its first major surge since the coronavirus pandemic.
That is up 34% from last year’s bonus pool of $35.4 billion and the highest number since records began in 1987.
DiNapoli’s estimates focus exclusively on cash bonuses rather than deferred compensation such as stock options.
The survey said the increased compensation was because of New York’s banks finally bouncing back from the COVID-19 lockdowns.
It pointed out that profits for the city’s finance industry “rose by 90% in 2024” driven by stronger trading, underwriting and dealmaking revenues.
“The record-high bonus pool reflects Wall Street’s very strong performance in 2024,” DiNapoli said. This financial market strength is good news for New York’s economy.”
But in a thinly-veiled dig at President Donald Trump’s tariff trade war, DiNapoli warned that the trend could be quickly reversed this year.
“Increasing uncertainty in the economy amid significant federal policy changes may dampen the outlook for parts of the securities industry in 2025,” the Democrat politician added.
The boost in profits also saw Wall Street job numbers reach “its highest annual level in nearly three decades.
The Comptroller said there were 201,500 working in the New York finance industry, up from 198,400 the year prior and exceeding the previous peak seen in 2000.
DiNapoli added that Wall Street accounted for 19% of the entire state of New York’s tax collection, and a toal of 7% of the city’s revenue year, underlining the industry’s importance to the Big Apple.
Financial services firms are also responsible for a greater share of new leasing activity in the city since the pandemic and have helped drive the development of new property, the survey added.
It cited JPMorgan Chase’s move to bring staffers back to the office at a new 60-story headquarters building in Midtown as further boosting economic growth in New York City.
