German, American or Japanese - Which banks should you work for?
We have examined 2014/2013 salary and bonus data from 515 bankers working in Sales, Research, Trading and Organisation/Advisory at Director level in London
Highlights:
- When looking at total compensation, figures show a huge gap between national groups: at either end of the spectrum, total compensation at US Banks is 106% higher vs Spanish banks
- Leader is not a surprise: US Banks top the league table while Japanese and German banks lag in 2nd and 3rd place with a non-negligeable £35k differential
- What about UK banks? A reasonable ranking in terms of base salary in line with the London average (£154,000) while bonuses trail substantially behind the (£125,000) London average at £100,000
- A cultural difference? Base salary/bonus ratios for European banks hover at 0.72x while at US institutions, the ratio is just above 1x
American banks tend to be culturally more enclined towards highly incentivised pay structures while European banks emphasise relative job security with lower cash rewards.
Banks Nationality | Base Salary | Bonus |
---|---|---|
US Banks | £173,000 | £178,000 |
Japanese Banks | £160,000 | £157,000 |
German Banks | £160,000 | £155,000 |
Swiss Banks | £150,000 | £150,000 |
Canadian Banks | £150,000 | £120,000 |
French Banks | £150,000 | £109,000 |
UK Banks | £157,000 | £100,000 |
Spanish Banks | £135,000 | £35,000 |
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