Barclays to up junior bankers’ base pay to $100,000, following Wall Street rivals

UK bank Barclays is expected to increase base pay for junior bankers to $100,000 amid an exodus of young workers.

The pay hike would bring the company’s rates in line with those announced by JPMorgan this week. In April, Bank of America also increased junior banker salaries by up to $25,000.

While the changes are expected to be global, Financial News reports Barclays has only informed its US-based entry-level bankers of the incoming salary hikes. London-based workers have not been contacted about the matter.

The news comes as figures last week showed up to 70 per cent of analysts and associate teams left their role at banks and financial institutions in recent months.

“Banks are haemorrhaging junior bankers,” said a specialist recruiter, who works with banks on analyst and VP hires. “People are quitting for better banks, they’re quitting the City or they’re jumping into private equity.”

Recruitment experts say, over a three-year period, close to 40 per cent of analyst classes are expected to leave their role.

Current turnover rates are around 30 percentage points higher at some firms. The exodus is likely being driven by longer hours since the onset of Covid and intense recruitment tactics from rivals, experts said.