Move Over, Private Equity. It’s Great to Be a Banker Again

It is a golden moment for banks. 

Trading profits are at record highs, and so are employee bonuses. Mergers, acquisitions and other deals are piling up at the second-fastest pace in at least a decade, producing billions of dollars in fees.  

The good times for banks represent a flip of fortunes. Since the 2008 financial crisis, Wall Street’s biggest paydays have been earned by private equity and private credit firms, making often high-risk investments with the promise of high returns. Lately, many of those private equity firms have struggled to raise money as the industry has delivered lackluster investment returns. 

The good times are encouraging the newest generation of bankers. Alan Johnson, founder of a namesake Wall Street pay consultancy, projects that investment bank employee bonuses this year will be 10 to 20 percent higher than in 2025. 

Mr. Johnson contrasted the imminent banker windfall with private equity pay, which he compared in many instances to “a lottery ticket that won’t be worth anything.” 

“It is the year of the bank,” he said. 

The New York Times / May 22, 2026