Wall Street Bonuses Fall by Most Since 2008

The average Wall Street bonus fell 26% last year, the biggest percentage drop since the financial crisis, as a slump in deal making cut into bankers’ compensation.

Financial employees received average bonus checks of $176,000 last year, compared with a record high $240,000 a year earlier, the New York state comptroller’s office said in a report Thursday. The annual report measures bonuses paid to employees in New York’s securities industry and doesn’t include base salaries, stock options or other forms of deferred compensation.