A report issued yesterday by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli indicated that year-end bonuses at New York City's securities firms declined 44 percent in 2008 from the previous year.
The report said that the total of bonuses in the industry last year was about $18.4 billion "based on personal income tax collections and other factors, including industry revenue and expense trends." In 2007, the figure was $32.9 billion.
"The decline is the largest on record in absolute dollars and the largest percentage decline in more than 30 years," it maintained, adding, however, that "the size of the bonus pool is still the sixth largest on record."
A page-one article by Ben White in today's edition of The New York Times took note of the report and reported that "by almost any measure, 2008 was a complete disaster for Wall Street - except, that is, when the bonuses arrived."
"Some bankers," it continued, "took home millions last year even as their employers lost billions. The comptroller's estimate, a closely watched guidepost of the annual December-January bonus seasons, is based largely on personal income tax collections. It excludes stock option awards that could push the figures even higher. The state comptroller...said it was unclear if banks had used taxpayer money for the bonuses, a possibility that strikes corporate governance experts, and indeed many ordinary Americans, as outrageous. He urged the Obama administration to examine the issue closely."
Mr. DiNapoli said the reduction in bonus income would probably cost the state about $1 billion in income tax revenue and cost the city about $275 million.
The report, however, may come as very good news to some pessimistic real estate brokers who feared that the fiscal crisis might severely impact the sale of luxury apartments in the city. While not all of the bonus monies are plowed into buying new apartments or townhouses by members of the securities industry, certainly a not insubstantial amount has been in recent years and the report would appear to indicate that there is still some money "out there."
The $18.4 billion bonus total and the average bonus of $112,020 for last year was the lowest since 2003 when the total was $15.8 billion and the average bonus was $99,930. The highest figures were recorded in 2006 when bonuses total $34.1 billion and the average was $190,600. In 1985, the earliest year for which the report had data, the total was $1.9 billion and the average was $13,970.
The report said that the total of bonuses in the industry last year was about $18.4 billion "based on personal income tax collections and other factors, including industry revenue and expense trends." In 2007, the figure was $32.9 billion.
"The decline is the largest on record in absolute dollars and the largest percentage decline in more than 30 years," it maintained, adding, however, that "the size of the bonus pool is still the sixth largest on record."
A page-one article by Ben White in today's edition of The New York Times took note of the report and reported that "by almost any measure, 2008 was a complete disaster for Wall Street - except, that is, when the bonuses arrived."
"Some bankers," it continued, "took home millions last year even as their employers lost billions. The comptroller's estimate, a closely watched guidepost of the annual December-January bonus seasons, is based largely on personal income tax collections. It excludes stock option awards that could push the figures even higher. The state comptroller...said it was unclear if banks had used taxpayer money for the bonuses, a possibility that strikes corporate governance experts, and indeed many ordinary Americans, as outrageous. He urged the Obama administration to examine the issue closely."
Mr. DiNapoli said the reduction in bonus income would probably cost the state about $1 billion in income tax revenue and cost the city about $275 million.
The report, however, may come as very good news to some pessimistic real estate brokers who feared that the fiscal crisis might severely impact the sale of luxury apartments in the city. While not all of the bonus monies are plowed into buying new apartments or townhouses by members of the securities industry, certainly a not insubstantial amount has been in recent years and the report would appear to indicate that there is still some money "out there."
The $18.4 billion bonus total and the average bonus of $112,020 for last year was the lowest since 2003 when the total was $15.8 billion and the average bonus was $99,930. The highest figures were recorded in 2006 when bonuses total $34.1 billion and the average was $190,600. In 1985, the earliest year for which the report had data, the total was $1.9 billion and the average was $13,970.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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