The City of London is booming in bonuses as bankers are earning their biggest bonuses since the global financial crisis.

With a record year of mergers and acquisitions (M & As) that surpassed $ 5 trillion worldwide, banks will make more of advisory fees than ever before.

JPMorgan Chase
JPM
, Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets could reward bankers with bonuses 40 to 50% higher than last year.

Goldman Sachs made the most of advising on M&A deals, followed by JPMorgan. Reuters initially reported on the increase in bonus pools at both US banks.

In the UK, banks made $ 3.5 billion advising on mergers and acquisitions, according to Refinitiv. This means that bonus pools are on average 20% higher than last year, says PwC. Bonuses are usually announced before Christmas, but paid out in the New Year.

While global M&A deals soared 63% to $ 5.3 trillion this year, other types of financial deals will contribute to record bonuses at law firms, brokers, and other consulting firms, according to Dealogic.

This year is already a record for the private equity and venture capital sectors. Tech companies in the UK have attracted more venture capital than ever before in their history. It invested £ 26 billion ($ 34.9 billion) this year, according to Dealroom.

Rising stock markets and solid earnings helped finance these businesses. But so did the pandemic: companies that reported losses due to Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 suddenly became attractive (and cheaper) takeover targets.