(Bloomberg) — BNP Paribas SA is planning to raise bonuses for its investment bankers, with equity trading and debt capital markets likely to benefit the most after a strong year for their businesses.
The French lender is looking to increase total variable compensation in the division by about 5%, people familiar with the matter said. The decision isn’t final and the number may still change, they said, asking for anonymity to discuss the non-public information.
A spokesperson for BNP Paribas declined to comment.
An increase of that size would be less than the double-digit gains expected at the big Wall Street banks. Bank of America Corp. is seen raising variable compensation by around 10%, while traders at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are in line for even bigger gains, people familiar with the matter have said. In Germany, Deutsche Bank AG is planning to lift variable compensation by about 10% in the investment bank, Bloomberg has reported.
The expected bonus gain at BNP Paribas’ investment bank is an average and changes for units will vary, said the people. Equity traders, along with bankers who advise on debt issuance, performed particularly well last year and stand to benefit, they said.
Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe made equities trading a priority in recent years, beefing up the unit by taking over businesses and client relationships that rivals including Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse were shedding.
BNP executives have reached broad agreement on the size of the overall bonus pool, though individual bonuses would only be communicated at the end of February, some of the people said.
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