Almost 1,000 London staff paid more than €1million each by US banks, as they're forced to reveal City pay surge

  • London arms of US banks paid 1,000 of staff members £900,000 each in 2016
  • Ten employees at Goldman Sachs’ European operation in London received €9m
  • American banks are responsible for about a quarter of the City’s high earners

By ALEX HAWKES FOR FINANCIAL, MAIL ON SUNDAY

Updated:

Goldman Sachs¿ Michael Sherwood, pictured, was paid $20 million (£15 million) in 2016 before he retired from the bank

Goldman Sachs’ Michael Sherwood, pictured, was paid $20 million (£15 million) in 2016 before he retired from the bank

The London arms of American banks paid almost a thousand staff more than €1 million (£900,000) each in 2016, in the latest revelation of the vast rewards on offer to Britain’s best-paid bankers.

Ten years after the financial crisis hit, pay rises at the biggest banks show no sign of abating – with the number of bankers paid more than €1 million still rising compared with the year before, according to an analysis of filings conducted by The Mail on Sunday.

Ten employees at Goldman Sachs’ European operation, headquartered in London, each received more than €9 million. 

They include the former boss of the London arm Michael Sherwood, who was paid $20 million (£15 million) in 2016 before he retired from the bank.

The London office is now run by South African Richard Gnodde, whose pay is not disclosed but who is among the bank’s highest earners.

JP Morgan paid 14 members of its London-headquartered business more than €5 million each. That includes London boss Daniel Pinto, who is on the board of the global bank and earned $19 million in 2016.

Morgan Stanley paid five members of staff more than €7 million each, while Bank of America paid seven employees more than €5 million apiece.

The figures are given in euros because banks now have to disclose how much they pay all employees classed as ‘material risk takers’ under EU rules introduced following the crisis. 

The four US banks between them paid 975 members of staff more than €1 million each. Last year the figure was 971. Of the 975, 330 were paid more than €2 million, and 97 were paid more than €4 million. 

JP Morgan's London boss Daniel Pinto, pictured, earned $19 million in 2016

JP Morgan's London boss Daniel Pinto, pictured, earned $19 million in 2016

Nicky Morgan, Conservative MP and chairwoman of the Treasury Select Committee, told The Mail on Sunday that the pay levels led to ‘huge feelings of “them and us”’.

She added: ‘It makes it harder for those of us who are in favour of financial services to argue for them on Brexit and other issues.’

All the banks declined to comment. 

The bankers covered in the reports all work for the American banks’ European arms, with the vast proportion based in the London headquarters of their respective organisations.

The big US banks are responsible for about a quarter of the City’s high earners. The European Banking Authority compiles figures for the industry as a whole and found that 4,133 people in the City across banking and fund management earned more than €1 million in 2015.

Full figures for 2016 are due out in the next few months.

The banks had to reveal the data by the end of last year. European banks have to reveal the same numbers, but do so much earlier as part of their annual reports.

South African Richard Gnodde, pictured, is among the Goldman Sachs¿ highest earners

South African Richard Gnodde, pictured, is among the Goldman Sachs’ highest earners

Barclays pays 541 staff more than €1 million worldwide, it said in February last year, with about a third of those believed to be based in London.

HSBC paid 363 staff more than €1 million each. RBS paid 87 people more than €1 million each, while Lloyds said 53 people had earned at least that much in 2016.

The British banks’ figures cover their worldwide operations rather than just their European businesses.

It emerged separately last week that three investment bankers who advised on many of 2016’s biggest deals had shared £63 million between them.

Sir Simon Robey, Simon Warshaw and Philip Apostolides enjoyed the huge payday through their boutique corporate finance advice firm Robey Warshaw. The highest earner of the three, who was not named, got £37 million.

The trio had advised SABMiller on its £79 billion sale to rival brewer AB InBev, and helped Japan’s Softbank buy British microchip maker Arm Holdings for £24.3 billion. 

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