The bonus pool for investment bankers at BNP Paribas is already one-quarter lower than it was this time last year after the group reported its first loss from capital markets and advisory since the onset of the credit crunch and profits from corporate and investment banking fell 70% in the first quarter.
The capital markets and advisory division reported a loss of â¬35m ($54m) after revenues from BNP Paribasâ equity and fixed income businesses fell to â¬708m, less than half the â¬1.7bn the bank made in the first quarter of 2007.
