ALL WORKERS NEED A UNION

Goldman Sachs keeps intern pay at $85,000 as Wall Street rivals raise salaries

Paul Clarke - 


© Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters

Goldman Sachs has decided not to up pay for its interns, despite hiking salaries for other lower-level roles as an intense battle for talent continues.

Incoming summer interns at the bank can expect a pro-rata salary of $85,000, according to a letter seen by Financial News.

This is effectively the same entry-level pay level the bank offered before it hiked salaries for first-year analysts to $110,000 in August.

Interns will also receive a $2,500 bonus for the eight to 10 weeks they stay at the bank this summer.

While Goldman has become one of the highest payers for junior and mid-ranking dealmakers as rival banks bid to secure top talent, the decision to hold intern pay contrasts with some Wall Street and European peers, including JPMorgan which are offering their summer interns salaries commensurate with full-time roles, for which pay has increased to $110,000 for those in their first year on the job.

Investment banks have been clambering to keep hold of junior bankers over the past 12 months as a boom in deals has led to 100-hour weeks and a spike in burnout. The issue was thrust into the spotlight in March last year when a group of 13 Goldman Sachs analysts in San Francisco highlighted a surge in workload and declining mental and physical health.

All major players have responded with at least one salary hike for analysts. Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS are among those to increase entry-level pay to $110,000. In London, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley now offer starting salaries of £70,000.

Internships are the primary route into a full-time banking job and remain fiercely contested, despite the hit to the sector’s image over the past year.

Goldman Sachs received a record 236,000 applications for its 2022 intake, with a 1.5% success rate, CNBC reported. Meanwhile, JPMorgan had over 270,000 vying for its internships, the bank told The Times, an increase of 20% on last year.

Pay might be seen as a secondary consideration for internships, as candidates look to open the door to a career in banking. But Goldman has handed out bumper bonuses to other staff this year, putting it ahead of its rivals, according to a report from recruiters Dartmouth Partners.

The bank paid out £180,000 in bonuses to associates on average, the data shows, while vice-presidents were paid variable compensation of £350,000. These were the highest numbers in the City.

This story originally appeared at FNLondon.com