Goldman Sachs' bankers in Europe earn 20% less than in London, 71% more than global norm
Goldman Sachs is the best paying investment bank in the world, according to our data. But not all of those bankers are paid equally – mostly because they’re not all bankers.
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Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, the bank’s Frankfurt-based subsidiary, released its results for the first six months of 2024 last week. What happened? Well, to start with, the bank raised compensation per head by a rather spectacular 25% compared to the same period last year, from $273k (€246k) to $340k (€307k) for six months' work.
That was better than the 21% pay rise over the same period at Goldman Sachs International, based in London, where compensation went from an average of $353k (£269k) to $426k (£324k) for six months. It was also better than at Goldman as a whole, which raised compensation per head “just” 15%, from $173k to $199k for six months.
The numbers therefore mean that, in the first half of the year, Goldman’s European staff earn 20% less than their colleagues in London, but 71% more than employees at the bank globally, which includes the US as well as APAC employees in low-cost centers such as India.
The change in compensation likely had a lot to do with who brings in what money. At GS in Europe, investment banking made up over a third of revenue, as did equities sales & trading. GS International generated 52% its revenues from equities trading alone.
Both European subsidiaries were significantly underweight on fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) sales & trading compared to the bank as a whole – and FICC has been having a comparatively poor 2024 so far.
Things are different at the top end of the bank, however. Goldman’s material risk takers (MRTs) (senior and highest earning staff) earned $1.58m on average in London in 2023 but $1.71m in Europe. Goldman has only 136 investment bank MRTs in Europe versus 507 in London, so it's possible that the MRTs clustered there are bigger revenue generators than those in London.
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