Wall Street bankers are set to rake in record bonuses this year, according to a new report from New York’s bean counter-in-chief, with profits fueled by a resurgence in dealmaking and a soaring stock market.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli predicted industry profits could exceed $60 billion in 2025 if current trends continue, up from the $49.9 billion full-year earnings posted by the Big Apple’s money men last year, handing a significant boost to city and state coffers.
“While uncertainty remains around interest rates, inflation, and the broader economy, Wall Street looks to have another strong year,” he said Thursday, pointing to a 10% rise in compensation expenses in just the first half of the year, compared to 2024.
DiNapoli, a Dem, noted that Wall Street profits “provide an important boost for tax revenues that support critical investments in housing, transportation and public services that New Yorkers depend on.”
The comptroller’s report said profits at the 130 firms on the New York Stock Exchange hit $30.4 billion in the first six months of this year — in spite of uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s trade policies, among other factors.
“The profit surge stems from a 73.4% increase in trading revenues, along with gains from commission income, AI-related deals and supervisory fees, despite market volatility tied to shifting tariff policies and global economic jitters,” DiNapoli wrote.
Major banks including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citi saw a boost to their trading units’ bottom lines as investors reorganized their portfolios while the White House overhauled trading policy with countries around the world.
Last year’s Wall Street bonuses hit a record $47.5 billion, coming to an average of $244,700 per employee, according to data from the comptroller’s office. Total compensation, including salaries, climbed 7.3% to an average of $505,630 — nearly five times the city’s private-sector average.
In August, leading compensation consultant Johnson Associates predicted an uptick in bonus payouts, too.
Johnson Associate said Wall Streeters working on fixed-income trading desks could see their bonuses grow 10% to 20%, while equities traders may get increases of up to 30%.
The improved outlook follows a weak start to the year, when banks and financial firms faced uncertainty from global trade tensions and muted deal-making.
DiNapoli’s forecast underscores the importance of the financial industry to New York City, with the sector coming under the microscope of left-wing firebrand Zohran Mamdani’s campaign to succeed Mayor Eric Adams.
Some top executives are concerned that his tax-and-spend proposals could force major firms to flee.
Employment numbers in New York City’s securities sector reached a record 201,500 jobs in 2024, eclipsing the pre-dot-com bubble peak from 2000, the state comptroller’s report stated.
Preliminary data for 2025 suggests a dip of about 3,000 jobs, though similar early trends have reversed in past years.
The city still leads the nation in securities jobs, but its share has slipped as other markets grow faster.
Statewide, the industry employed 217,800 people in 2024, up 9.3% since 2019 — the largest gain of any state. California trailed in second place with 102,600 jobs.
“However you feel about Wall Street, good or bad, the reality is the services that we provide to the people of our city and our state significantly rely on the profits of Wall Street,” DiNapoli said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Whatever’s going on in the larger politics, we want these jobs to continue to be located in New York.”
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