Goldman Sachs considers bonus cut of at least 40%

Goldman Sachs is considering cutting the bonus pool for its more than 3,000 investment bankers by at least 40 percent this year. CEO David Solomon would dare to make a deeper cut than his Wall Street competitors.

The final level of bonuses at Goldman is yet to be determined, but the prospect of the cuts has fueled fears that the bank could face high staff turnover in the new year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The cuts, the worst since the 2008 financial crisis, show that Wall Street banking is in dire straits -- an industry that last year was paying huge bonuses to many employees on record IPO and merger proceeds.

Goldman ranks second globally in investment banking fees this year, behind JPMorgan Chase, according to Refinitiv data. Goldman's crown jewel, mergers and acquisitions, has gained market share and ranks first.

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America are all considering cutting their investment banking bonus pools by 30 percent.

BofA's capital markets division expects total compensation to fall by more than a third this year, according to two people familiar with the negotiations, which are still ongoing.

With cuts of 50 percent or more, senior executives at the BofA unit will take the bulk of the cut, the people added. The bank has less leeway to cut salaries for junior staff because it is tied to pay scales and many employees face significant increases if they are promoted.

The BofA declined to comment.