Salary benchmarking site Emolument.com has put together a report on the bonuses paid to middle and back office staff at a selection of banks.
The report draws on 2015 salary data collected from 84 middle and back office Vice Presidents working in the financial services sector in London, and it makes for interesting reading.
Back office banking bonuses – Huge discrepancies between bonuses paid
The first chart shows the average bonuses paid to middle and bank office staff, organized by bank. A quick glance reveals a huge range in bonuses paid, from £38,000 at Goldman Sachs down to £5,000 at Societe Generale, meaning that average bonuses are over seven times higher at Goldman than the lowest paying bank, and double those at the second highest-paying bank (BNP Paribas).
The report also reveals that middle and back office staff rarely receive bonuses which represent over 30% of their total pay packet. In contrast, front office staff often receive bonuses which are equal to their base salaries.
Back office banking bonuses – Lower bonuses usually mean higher basic salaries
Staff at banks which pay less in bonuses are often compensated with higher salaries. One example is Nomura, which pays an average bonus of £8,000 but still comes in second for overall pay packets.
JPMorgan is another bank which pays a relatively low average bonus of £13,000, however salaries are £97,000 on average, contributing to its ranking of 4th place in the table of overall pay packages. Although middle and bank office employees are paid an average bonus of £17,000 at HSBC (4th on the list) their overall pay packet of £91,000 sees them drop to 10th overall.
Societe Generale offers both the lowest average bonus (£5,000) and the lowest overall compensation (£71,000).
“As a cost centre, Middle and Back Office doesn’t command bonuses in line with front office jobs. However as the need for excellent MBO professionals has risen in the last few years, specifically in risk management and quant departments, employers now pay MBO substantial salaries, which do not lag far behind front office’s,” said Alice Leguay from Emolument.com.
Pay packets for middle and back office professionals continue to rise as banks appreciate the benefit of effective and hard-working professionals.
