JP Morgan staff bill rises to $29bn

US bank JP Morgan Chase today revealed a higher bill for staff pay and bonuses in 2011 of $29bn despite a turbulent finish to the year.

The total pay packet – which based on its headcount of 260,157 equates to an average of $111,471 for each of its staff – is a 3% increase on last year.

But total pay and bonuses in the final quarter of the year fell 9% to $6.3bn at the bank – which employs around 11,000 staff in London – as market turmoil, triggered by the eurozone debt crisis, hit its investment arm.

America’s biggest bank, the first to report in the Wall Street bank earnings season, reported a 9% rise in annual profits to $19bn, despite a 23% plunge in fourth quarter earnings to $3.7bn.