Gone are the days of guaranteed big bonuses for investment bankers. Since the global financial crisis in 2008, pay checks of investment banks had come under the scanner especially when these banks were considered as one of the main culprits behind the crisis. Since then bonuses have not surged the way they did in the heydays of 2006 and 2007. What is more, in a very subdued economic environment, lower bonuses are actually being doled out by investment banks to bolster profits.

Goldman Sachs is one such example. In the fourth quarter result season, Goldman Sachs not only put the brakes on bonuses but also cut pay by 11%. This has led the bank to report profits which are at the highest level in 3 years. Same has been the case with JP Morgan's investment bank where the CEO's bonus was halved. As a result of which this bank was also able to report a growth in profits. While business sentiments appear to be improving gradually, most of these investment banks are increasingly focusing on managing expenses through reducing pay or going in for job cuts. Whether this trend will sustain in the coming years remains to be seen though.