Published: August 13, 2026 | Category: Markets & Compensation

Wall Street’s equity traders and dealmakers are heading into 2026 bonus season with the fattest checks in years. Compensation consultant Johnson Associates projects equity sales and trading bonuses will rise 20% to 30% or more, with advisory bankers up 15% to 20%, in a year the firm is calling banking’s “Year of the Bank.”

Overall investment and commercial banking bonuses are projected to climb 10% to 15% or more, according to Johnson Associates, whose estimates draw on first-half 2026 financials at 20 asset managers and 15 major investment and commercial banks alongside conversations with industry clients. Four in five Wall Street jobs are set to see a bonus increase this year, the firm said.

The pay gains track a real earnings surge. JPMorgan Chase’s investment banking fees rose 30% in the second quarter. Bank of America’s climbed 50%. Citigroup’s investment banking revenue jumped 44%, and Goldman Sachs’ Global Banking & Markets revenue surged 53%, all according to the banks’ second-quarter 2026 results reported in mid-July.

Combined investment banking fees at the five largest U.S. banks are on pace for their highest level since 2021. SpaceX’s initial public offering alone generated roughly $500 million in underwriting fees for the syndicate, with lead banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley each pocketing about $100 million.

The catch: firms are not hiring to match the boom. “Usually people hire when things are really good, and they’re not really doing that,” said Alan Johnson, founder of Johnson Associates, pointing to AI and technology absorbing more of the workload once handled by junior staff.

Not every corner of finance is celebrating. Bonuses at real estate firms and smaller private equity and venture capital shops are projected flat, Johnson Associates said. Private credit firms, which have had a rough year, could see bonuses flat to down 10%, a reversal the firm called a “seismic change” after more than a decade in which private markets outpaced public-markets banking on pay.

The divergence marks a turn after years in which private capital, not the big banks, set Wall Street’s pay tables.

Sources