- Bonuses at major banks are increasingly skewed toward front-office revenue roles, leaving technology, operations, and other support functions with weak payouts despite strong firm performance.
- Morgan Stanley staff say promised VP+ pay changes (higher base, lower bonus) often failed to show up, with many seeing neither base raises nor meaningful bonuses.
- Goldman Sachs employees in engineering, operations, and some markets roles report sharp bonus cuts while senior bankers fared better, worsening morale amid large executive awards.
- Bank of America says AI has replaced 2,000 technologists and reduced finance headcount, highlighting rising automation risk and potential attrition in non-revenue roles.
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The latest round of bonus disclosures across major U.S. banks reveals a widening compensation gap between front-office revenue drivers and back- and middle-office support functions. Institutions such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are rewarding M&A bankers and traditional profit pools, while roles in operations, technology, and other non-revenue areas are seeing weaker bonus awards, lower base pay growth, or both.
Morgan Stanley’s operations staff are particularly aggrieved: in Asia and London, bankers enjoyed bonus increases of 15-20% in 2025, but their operations teams did not share in these gains. Promised shifts in compensation structure toward higher base salaries and smaller bonuses for those at VP level and higher did not materialize—many received no base increases and were told they were already at the upper end of pay ranges.
Goldman Sachs’ support functions are also under strain: while front-office bankers saw satisfactory bonuses, those in engineering, operations, and markets roles are reporting sharp cutbacks. The optics are made worse by high executive retention awards: David Solomon and John Waldron were granted large stock-based bonuses, seen by many employees as misaligned given the backdrop of conservative payouts elsewhere in the firm.
Automation is accelerating the split: internal commentary from Bank of America’s CEO confirms that AI has enabled the replacement of 2,000 technologists and reductions in headcount in finance teams via “series of prompts”—moves that displace support roles without reducing profit attribution in revenue lines.
Strategic implications for banks include:
- Rising attrition in non-front-office roles, risking loss of institutional knowledge and operational stability.
- Potential reputational risk and morale challenges, especially where support teams perceive unfair compensation practices.
- Regulatory and disclosure risk, especially as shareholder advisory groups and proxy advisers increase scrutiny of executive compensation relative to broader workforce pay trends.
- Competition for talent in tech and operations could intensify, pushing banks either to raise compensation or outsource/automate more aggressively.
Open questions to watch:
- How long can banks maintain the separation in compensation momentum between revenue vs support roles before operational risks emerge?
- Will banks shift more to base salary increases in support roles to curb attrition, despite the hit to fixed cost base?
- What regulatory or investor pressures might force more transparent disclosure of comp by function, not just enterprise- or division-level?
- How disruptive will AI be for middle and back office roles in 2026 and beyond—both in cost savings and in employee displacement?
Supporting Notes
- At Morgan Stanley, Asian bankers got ~20% bonus increases, London bankers ~15%, but mid-ranking operations staff in each region “received no base salary increase” and were told they were “at the upper end of the pay range.”
- Goldman Sachs’ engineering and operations bonuses were described by insiders as “hit badly,” while front-office bankers received “fine bonuses.”
- Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank has “replaced 2,000 technologists with AI,” and cut finance team headcount using a “series of prompts.”
- Poor bonuses are identified explicitly as risking voluntary exit, since leaving prevents banks from paying severance.
- Support functions are singled out as being “particularly susceptible to automation.”
- Promises of changed compensation architecture (more fixed, less variable) for VP+ roles were not delivered according to multiple insiders.