Bank Bonuses Spark Talent War

Financial firms under pay restrictions in the U.S. and Europe find their top executives and traders are targeted by headhunters

By Esmé E. Deprez

For as long as there has been outrage over Wall Street megabonuses, executives have justified their handsome rewards by warning that if companies didn't pay up, talent would flee to rival firms. Now it appears that theory is being confirmed. Recruitment experts hired by Wall Street trading houses, which are expanding to handle booming stock and bond trades, say they are zeroing in on companies such as Citigroup (C), American International Group (AIG), and others that are under U.S. or European pay restrictions.

"The target list of nearly every major executive search firm these days includes executives from firms under TARP control," says Dennis Carey, a senior client partner at executive search firm Korn/Ferry International (KFY). He is referring to the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which pumped billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars into banks like Citi and Bank of America (BAC) during the financial crisis but also capped pay at the firms. "There's a significant opportunity to raid that talent," Carey says.

White House officials said on Oct. 21 that federal pay czar Kenneth Feinberg will slash total compensation for the top 25 highest earners at the seven firms that received massive injections by an average of 50% and lower salaries by 90% on average. Earlier in the month, Britain announced it had signed up Barclays (BCS), HSBC (HBC), Lloyds Banking Group (LYG), Standard Chartered (STAN.L), and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to follow limits on bonuses agreed upon by the Group of 20 nations at their September meeting in Pittsburgh. Those recommendations included deferring some bonuses and the possibility of later "clawbacks" of awards if the performance upon which they're based doesn't hold up.

New Rules from the Fed

The pay gap could be tightened somewhat under rules the Federal Reserve proposed on Oct. 22. Banks in the U.S. would have to start persuading their regulators that pay practices don't threaten the bank's stability by encouraging excessive risk-taking; the Fed plans to compare pay policies across some 28 big and complex banks to rein in risk as well. But the rules may not go into effect for weeks or months as the Fed solicits and digests comments on the idea, and the proposal includes no firm pay limits or formulas.

Some financial institutions have emerged from the financial crisis intact and eager to seize market share from their troubled rivals. Firms such as Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) quickly paid back their TARP funds so they could operate free of the federal restrictions—and now find that position to be a valuable recruiting tool. "This is certainly one competitive advantage for some organizations, albeit one that is quite unique to this moment in time in the markets," says Timothy L. Holt, managing partner in the financial-services practice at executive recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles (HSII).

Case in point: On Oct. 26, AIG Vice-Chairman Matthew Winter will become head of Allstate's (ALL) life insurance and retirement unit. Winter is one of at least 49 managers the beleaguered insurance giant has lost since September 2008, according to Bloomberg. AIG is struggling to turn itself around following a federal government infusion that has now reached $182.3 billion.

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