Morgan Stanley’s bonus payments for Star Asia Bank to jump by up to 50%, sources told Reuters

By Selena Lee

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley (NYSE: ) top-performing investment bankers and traders in Asia will see bonus increases of up to 50% due to strong business growth and lower-than-expected results last year, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. .

The jump in bonuses in the region comes as the Wall Street firm completes its first year as new CEO Ted Peake and benefits from buoyant trading activity in the Asia Pacific region.

Revenue from the bank’s institutional equity business, which is the core of its sales and marketing business, increased 51% globally in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago. This month.

Top Wall Street banks, including Morgan Stanley, are seeing big bonus increases for traders in Asia this year because of a flurry of client activity last year, one of the people said.

Morgan Stanley, which is among the biggest earners of equity deal fees in Asia, has told its top bankers in Asia that bonuses will be 40 percent higher this year than in 2024, the two people said.

Higher bonus payments help investment banks retain their top traders, and the move is particularly important in Asia, which has seen layoffs in the past few years.

The sources did not want to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

A spokesman for Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong declined to comment. Investment banks never disclose the number of bonuses given to traders and traders.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that some top Morgan Stanley bankers who worked on deals, particularly in India and Australia, are set to see their bonuses rise from 30% to 40% this year, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Morgan Stanley ranked second in investment banking revenue in the APAC global and Japanese regions last year, according to Dealogic data. It collected $355 million in fees in APAC, trailing JPMorgan, and $511 million in Japan, where it trailed Nomura, the data said.

The jump in bonuses at Morgan Stanley comes from a low level last year, one of the people said.

About a third of managing directors in Asia received no bonuses last year, the person said.