Wall Street may cut bonus pools

New York: Wall Street firms, facing pressure from lawmakers and shareholders to rein in pay, may report smaller bonus pools because of lower fourth-quarter revenue and mounting public outrage, analysts say.

Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co’s investment bank may hand out $27.6 billion (€19.2bn) in bonuses, according to analysts’ estimates. While that’s 49% higher than a year ago and more than the previous high of $26.8 billion in 2007, it’s less than some analysts expected in October.

Banks have announced plans to pay more in stock and defer cash payments to satisfy regulators’ calls to link pay to long-term performance. They will still face public anger over the size of bonus pools after the Troubled Asset Relief Program injected capital into the major financial institutions during the crisis.