One Wall Street firm may have found a solution to the unhappiness of overworked junior bankers amid a boom in deals activity: Money.
Credit Suisse executives told mid- and entry-level investment bankers Wednesday that they were getting special $20,000 bonuses in the second quarter, and that people below the managing director level can expect salary increases as well, according to people with knowledge of the changes.
The move from Credit Suisse, a top-ten mergers advisor globally, is Wall Street’s latest attempt to address concerns that junior bankers are overworked and underappreciated during a surge in capital markets activity. Last week, a deck created by first-year analysts at Goldman Sachs detailed brutal working conditions this year, including 100-hour work weeks, prompting a response from CEO David Solomon.
The day that story broke, New York-based investment bank Jefferies told its analysts and associates – the bottom two tiers in Wall Street’s hierarchy – that they could choose gifts including Peloton exercise machines and Apple products. Yesterday, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser banned internal video calls on Fridays and instituted a firm-wide holiday to address employee burnout.
At Credit Suisse, the $20,000 bonuses were labeled “one-time, cash lifestyle allowances” and are specifically for analysts, associates and vice presidents in the bank’s capital markets and advisory group. The coming raises are for people with those titles, as well as directors, which is the level right below managing director at Credit Suisse.
As part of the changes, the firm also said it would relax its dress code when workers return to office life, according to Business Insider, which earlier reported on the move. Zurich-based Credit Suisse has advised on $112.5 billion in mergers so far this year, according to Dealogic.
“Credit Suisse’s Capital Markets & Advisory management recognizes and wants to reward the efforts of our people who have not only managed to support our clients through unprecedented deal volume, but also increased our share of the market,” a spokeswoman for the bank said in an e-mail statement.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.