The six largest U.S. banks saw their combined head count dip about 0.1% in the second quarter as they compete for deposits and look toward a continued lift in the deal making Wall Street has seen in recent weeks. Staffing levels are often seen as a sign of health for capital raising and for the economy in general and are also closely watched by people in the banking business with friends or colleagues who have been affected by the financial-services job market.
Following about six quarters of slowed deal making in investment banking, the current uptick in activity may continue through the rest of the year. “It definitely feels better over the course of the last six to eight weeks than it felt earlier in the year,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon said on the bank’s quarterly conference call on July. “When you have a big reset, it takes five or six quarters to get that reset. It’s not surprising that we’re at six quarters now and you’re starting to see more activity.” As of June 30, the total head count at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM,
-0.06%,
Bank of America Corp.
BAC,
-0.25%,
Wells Fargo & Co.
WFC,
-0.51%,
Citigroup Inc.
C,
+2.22%,
Morgan Stanley
MS,
+0.28%
and Goldman Sachs
GS,
-0.02%
stood at 1,116,218. down 1,384 from the end of the first quarter, when the total was 1,117,602.
Four out of six major Wall Street banks reduced head count in the quarter ending June 30.
Terrence Horan/MarketWatch
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