*

Bonus jump due to strong business showing and 2024's low

base,

say sources

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Wall Street banks benefited from buoyant trading in Asia

Pacific

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Bigger bonus to help investment banks retain top talent

By Selena Li

HONG KONG, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley's ( MS )

top-performing investment bankers and traders in Asia will see

up to a 50% increase in bonuses due to robust business growth

and a low-base effect of last year, according to two people with

direct knowledge of the matter.

The jump in the bonus payouts in the region will come after

the Wall Street firm saw its new CEO Ted Pick wrap up a strong

first year, and it benefited from buoyant trading activities in

the Asia Pacific region.

The revenue of the bank's institutional equities business,

one key part of its sales and trading, rose by 51% globally in

the fourth quarter compared with a year ago, with the Asia

business providing a strong boost to the global growth, the bank

said earlier this month.

Top Wall Street banks including Morgan Stanley ( MS ) are seeing

big bonus increases in Asia for traders this year due to buoyant

client activities last year, according to one of the people.

Morgan Stanley ( MS ), which is among Asia's largest equities deal

fee earners, has told some top bankers in Asia their bonuses

will be around 40% higher this year compared to 2024, the two

people said.

Higher bonus payouts help investment banks to retain their

top dealmakers, and the move is particularly crucial in Asia

where they have seen layoffs over the past few years.

The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised

to speak to the media.

A Morgan Stanley ( MS ) spokesperson in Hong Kong declined to

comment. Investment banks typically never publicise the quantum

of bonuses handed out to dealmakers and traders.

Bloomberg, citing sources with knowledge, reported on Monday

that some senior Morgan Stanley ( MS ) bankers, particularly those who

worked on India and Australia deals, are going to see an

increase of 30% to 40% in bonus payouts this year.

Morgan Stanley ( MS ) ranked second last year in investment banking

revenue both in the APAC international and Japan regions,

according to Dealogic data. It collected $355 million in fees in

APAC, trailing JPMorgan ( JPM ), and garnered $511 million in

Japan, where it trailed Nomura, the data showed.

A jump in Morgan Stanley ( MS ) bonuses would come off a low base

last year when the most senior dealmakers saw their bonus fall

by more than 20% from a year ago, one of the people said.

Close to one-third of managing directors did not get any

bonus in Asia last year, the person said.

(Reporting by Selena Li; Additional reporting by Kane Wu and

Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)