The average Wall Street bonus rose 2 percent to $172,860 last year as the securities industry added jobs for the first time since 2011, the New York State Comptroller's office said. Compensation climbed even as pre-tax profits at the broker-dealer operations of NYSE member firms fell 4.5 percent to $16 billion.
"Industry profits were lower because of weakness in fixed income and commodities trading, higher capital reserve requirements and the continued cost of legal settlements,'' said a report by New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The securities industry in New York gained 2,300 jobs in 2014. Average bonuses still fell short of a record set before the 2008 financial crisis. They peaked at $191,360 in 2006.
The bonus pool rose 3 percent last year, up to $28.5 billion.
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-- Jacob Pramuk and Reuters
