(Bloomberg) -- Bonuses could drop 40% or more across the financial industry this year as the coronavirus pandemic causes economic tumult around the world, according to compensation consultant Alan Johnson.
A “perfect storm” is taking shape, with a global recession looming and broader industry shake-ups coming as well, the managing director of Johnson Associates Inc. said.
“It looks like it's going to be a very, very tough compensation year,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “This is a shock to the system that you see about every 10 years.”
Financial firms are among the companies suffering as the pandemic upends credit availability, roils stock markets and cuts consumer spending with businesses forced to shut their doors and people stuck at home. Banks are “squarely in the crosshairs,” private equity “is going to take a huge hit” and “investors are getting tired” of hedge funds, Johnson said, adding that asset managers also will feel the pain.
“The one silver lining is it's going to change attitudes about working from home, which truthfully in financial services is long overdue,” he said.
Read more: Bankers' bonuses to ‘fall sharply,' New York's DiNapoli warns
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