It's Wall Street bonus season: Here's when the biggest banks are expected to tell employees how much they made

• Wall Street's biggest banks are gearing up to communicate 2024 bonus compensation to staff.
• Bonuses are expected to be as much as 35% higher as demand for corporate dealmaking grows.
• Here are the dates banks like JPMorgan and Goldman are expected to tell employees what they made.

Wall Street bonus season is kicking into high gear this week as the biggest banks get ready to tell employees how much they earned in discretionary income.

Morgan Stanley, known for leading social media company Reddit's IPO in March, is expected to start telling employees how much they earned in 2024 bonuses as soon as this week, according to three people with knowledge of the bank's plans. A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Other large banks are scheduled to communicate bonus numbers to staff later this month, including Goldman Sachs as soon as next week and JPMorgan Chase the week after that, people with knowledge of the banks' plans told BI.

From junior analysts to senior bankers, year-end bonuses tend to indicate not only Wall Street workers' own performance in a given year, but also their value to the company. It's common for bankers who feel snubbed with a lowball number to leave for other jobs after their check clears.

Bonuses have been down in recent years after hitting new highs in 2021 due to lackluster demand for mergers and capital raising.

This year, investment bankers and traders are expecting bonuses to tick higher (up as much as 35%, according to comp consultants Johnson Associates) thanks to a bounce in deal flow that's predicted to ramp up this year.

Worldwide M&A was up 11% in 2024 to over $3 billion, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. The five biggest banks — JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Citi — dominated the league tables last year, led by Goldman Sachs with 30% global market share, followed by Morgan Stanley with 25%, and JPMorgan with 19%. Bank trading revenue also skyrocketed, propelled by rising interest rates and stock volatility.

BI spoke to bank insiders and headhunters to find out when employees of the largest banks are expecting to learn their "number." They said bonus information tends to be closely guarded and that communication dates are subject to change. See when the biggest banks are scheduled to tell staff how much they earned in 2024 bonus money, in chronological order:

Morgan Stanley

Multiple people with knowledge of Morgan Stanley's plans said the investment bank, which ranked No. 2 in M&A last year, will start to share bonus numbers with staff on January 8, making it the first major bank to do so.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman is expected to begin revealing comp on January 15, the same day it reports its 2024 and fourth-quarter earnings, a process that tends to stretch out for several days, a person with knowledge of the announcements told BI.

JPMorgan

The biggest US bank by assets plans to start communicating bonus compensation to employees on January 21, a person familiar with the bank's plans told BI. Employees based in the US will be paid the following week.

Bank of America

Bank of America is aiming to begin communicating bonuses on January 27, a person with knowledge of the announcements told BI. A BofA spokesman declined to comment.

Citi

Bonuses at Citi will be shared in the second half of January, according to a person familiar with the plans, though it isn't clear which day. The bank has been undergoing a massive restructuring since 2021 when CEO Jane Fraser took the reigns.