[Global Times reporter Ding Yazhi] As the end of the year approaches, Wall Street will usher in the "coldest" winter.

According to a Bloomberg report on the 2nd, under the pressure of market turbulence and high interest rate environment, many Wall Street investment banks including Citibank and Bank of America are planning to cut the year-end bonus pool by as much as 30%.

　　Every December is the day when US investment bank executives finalize their year-end awards, but this year, due to market tightening and the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes, many lenders withdrew from large-scale transaction financing, investment bank transaction activity plummeted, and investment bank executives’ year-end awards are naturally overshadowed.

In the first nine months of this year, the investment business income of the five largest U.S. banks plummeted 47%, or as much as $18.8 billion.

Bonuses for typical deal advisors at investment banks could drop 20% this year, while incentive pay for bond and stock underwriting staff will plummet 45%, according to a report last month from compensation consultancy Johnson Associates Inc.

　　Li Daxiao, chief expert of Yingda Securities, told the Global Times reporter that the Federal Reserve released a large amount of money to promote economic recovery, which caused inflation in the United States and forced the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

The capital market has also been hit hard.

In such a market environment, the performance of investment banks is not satisfactory, and a large number of fund performance retracements, most of which have a retracement rate of more than 30%.

　　The year-end bonuses for the investment banking business of major Wall Street banks have been cut, which is another evidence of the sluggish performance of the US primary market throughout the year.

Goldman Sachs plans to cut year-end bonuses for traders in its global markets division by double-digit percentages, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citigroup are also considering plans to cut bonus pools for their investment banking employees by as much as 30%, according to insiders.

Groups including Citigroup, Bank of America and Barclays are even considering not giving any bonuses to their dozens of underperforming banks.

It is estimated that in Goldman Sachs Group, there may be more than 100 employees who do not get the year-end bonus.

　　Li Daxiao said: "It is a naked fact that the United States' financial indirect acquisition of the world. The United States occupies the high ground of the global stock market and bond market, and its financial dominance makes its every move affect the whole world."

　　On November 30, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that he would slow down the pace of interest rate hikes. Bank of America Global Research expects the Fed to raise interest rates by 50 basis points in December and February next year.

Li Daxiao said: "In the past two months, the yield of U.S. bonds has fallen sharply, and U.S. stocks have also rebounded from their lows. The Fed's policy shift may have a positive impact on the stock market."

　　(Source: Global Times)