Jefferies' top bankers earn $2m in London, but a handful of top traders at Nomura don't do badly

by Zeno Toulon

20 August 2025

Much discussion has been had for pay at the big American banks in London, as well as the pay at their European rivals in the city, but one group tends to avoid both ends of scrutiny: smaller international banks. Do not be alarmed – those banks are paying huge sums, too.

Jefferies, for example, is generous in London. Jefferies paid its MRTs (Material Risk Takers – a regulatory term covering a bank’s most important and well‑paid people) an average of $1m in salaries and $1m in bonuses for their work in 2024. Jefferies' MRTs were paid an average of $2m each. That was higher than the pay at any of their fellow American banks – Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Citi.

At the very top of the scale, though, MRTs at Nomura may do even better. Although Nomura's 254 MRTs earned an average of $970k in 2024, the Japanese bank paid 19 people over €2m ($2.3m). The bank has a seemingly well‑deserved reputation for paying its traders well. Nomura also designates a high number of its people MRTs. It has 254 in London, versus 325 at Morgan Stanley, for example.

Wells Fargo and Mizuho are the poor relations. Pay at both was significantly behind any similarly‑sized rival in London, American or otherwise, and was more comparable to Lloyds or to Rothschild. Those banks paid their investment banking MRTs averages of $829k and $720k, respectively. Only Berenberg, which paid its 20 MRTs an average of €390k ($456k), was markedly worse.

Jefferies' top bankers earn $2m in London, but a handful of top traders at Nomura don't do badly

The article compares executive pay at American banks and their European rivals in London, noting that Jefferies offers an average total compensation of $2 million to its material risk takers (MRTs) in 2024, topping other U.S. banks. Nomura’s MRTs earn slightly less on average but 19 of its traders received more than €2 million ($2.3 million). Other banks such as Wells Fargo, Mizuho, Lloyds, Rothschild, Berenberg, and the major U.S. banks are highlighted for lower pay levels.