Wall Street's average bonus fell 9 percent to $146,200 in 2015, the biggest drop since 2011, according to estimates by New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The bonus pool was $25 billion, down 6 percent from a year earlier, even as the industry added 4,500 jobs in New York City.
Profit at the six largest U.S. banks rose to $93 billion in 2015, more than double the 2009 level and a 36 percent increase from a year earlier. Still, the industry has been slow to recover from the 2008 global financial crisis. A yearslong slump in fixed-income trading revenue and rising litigation costs have forced many banks to cut jobs and reduce pay.
Smaller bonuses mean New York City will be forced to contend with lower tax revenue, Kathryn Wylde, chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, said in a statement.
Politicians calling for stricter regulations for Wall Street should recognize that the industry is responsible for about 40 percent of the local economy. "New York cannot continue to thrive if Wall Street withers," Wylde's statement warned.
The average salary in the securities industry in New York City rose 14 percent to a record $404,800 in 2014. The industry accounts for 22 percent of all private sector wages paid in New York City and roughly one in nine jobs, directly or indirectly, according to DiNapoli's office.
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