Investment bankers eye bumper bonuses after record $1.5 bn fee year in 2025
Mumbai: Top investment bankers are likely licking their chops at the prospect of lucrative bonuses, after 2025 delivered record fees on the back of buoyant equity capital markets (ECM) and hectic private-market dealmaking.Data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) shows that investment banking fees for 2025 totalled $1.5 billion, of which $651.8 million came from equity deals, $391.3 million from M&A deals, $232.5 million from bond deals, and $227 million from loan syndications.Comparatively, investment banking fees in the previous two years were $1.36 billion (in 2024) and $1.33 billion (2023). In 2024, bonus payouts to investment bankers were an estimated ₹1,000 crore, according to industry experts and headhunters.The bonuses for 2025 deals are expected to be higher.
“The sentiment around bonuses in investment banks is decisively upbeat for 2025 with a strong H2 in ECM activity coupled with a healthy pipeline of deals ahead,” said Ruchi Thakkar, director for capital markets hiring at specialist executive search firm Native.The firm predicts the bonus payouts to be 150-200% of base compensation for 2025 across banks, likely exceeding ₹1,000–1,200 crore in aggregate. Of this, Native expects about ₹800 crore bonus to accrue to top bankers.That would include more than 350 senior executives — managing directors, partners, directors — across top global and domestic investment banks in India who earn an average fixed salary between ₹1.5 crore and ₹2.5 crore.Mid- and junior-level bankers are also expected to see relatively higher bonus payouts.
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