Less Bonus Green Has Bankers Seeing Red

Some senior staff at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein could be heading for the door if bonuses don't live up to their expectations. According to Financial Times Deutschland, some top staffers at the Dresdner Bank unit may receive a bonus envelope about one-third lighter than they anticipated.

One unnamed consultant speculated in FTD that because bonus payments were "really, really, really bad" this year, "[d]ozens will take the first opportunity to switch to a different employer." The paper didn't say why bonuses were slashed, but DrKW's new head, Stefan Jentzsch, reportedly has said he prefers a more selective bonus policy. FTD reports that those affected were mostly equity-trading staff and staffers in Italian and Asia branch offices. In addition, parts of some bonuses were being deferred until next year.