Banks

Bear Analysts Irked By Severance Memo

05/06/08 - 02:39 PM EDT


As Bear StearnsBSC employees await word of whether they will lose their jobs after JPMorgan ChaseJPM takes over, grumbling is emerging over proposed severance packages.

Sources familiar with the situation told TheStreet.com that Bear's analysts are furious at a decision to characterize their jobs as "non-administrative," a move that could cost them thousands of dollars in severance money. Most Bear employees expect to hear from JPMorgan about their fate this week and JPMorgan said it plans to tell everyone by the end of the month.

An email obtained by TheStreet.com sent last week by Kay Booth, head of Bear's equity research, said analysts were "generally considered to be a revenue generating and client facing role." Revenue producers have been told they can expect to qualify for between 25% and 33% of last year's bonus in their severance package, vs. as much as 75% for administrative employees, according to accounts of communications from JPMorgan provided by several Bear employees, including two in senior positions with the firm.

Bear Analysts Livid About Payoff

The severance packages also include roughly three weeks of pay for each year an employee worked at the firm, plus an automatic eight weeks and the portion of the bonuses, according to the Bear employees. All Bear employees also will receive a one-time grant of restricted JPMorgan stock on June 2 and a cash bonus and more restricted stock at the end of the year. The stock will vest in two to three years.

An analyst with 10 years of experience at a northeastern firm Bear's size can expect a salary in the market midrange of between $70,374 and $89,740 and a bonus of between $68,456 and $84,856, according to Salary.com.

Previous «
1 2 3

Headlines & Perspectives

Banks

Go To Section Home


05/06/08
U.S. Mortgages Drive UBS Losses

The Swiss bank lost 11.5 billion Swiss francs on a $19.5 billion writedown to structured finance products tied to U.S. mortgages, as its money management businesses also slipped.


05/06/08
Wachovia Loss Nearly Doubles

Writedowns to its bank insured life insurance portfolio jumped to $708 million, from the $393 million it reported last week.


05/05/08
Countrywide Plummets on Deal, Debt Fears

A Friedman, Billings Ramsay analyst says BofA should "walk away" from the deal, due to the poor quality of Countrywide's loan portfolio.


04/28/08
Cramer's Take on the Top 10 Searched Stocks

Apple and AT&T were among the most searched stocks on TheStreet.com Friday. Here's what Cramer had to say about them recently.


04/26/08
Jim Cramer's Best Blogs

Catch up on his thinking on the hottest topics of the past week.


04/26/08
Coming Week: Make or Break

Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of earnings and economic data.


04/27/08
This Week's Barron's Roundup

Looking for deep value with Defiance Asset Management, polling big investors about where the market's headed, plus much more.


04/28/08
Monday's Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades

See who made what calls.


02/29/08
3 Stocks I Saw On TV

3 Stocks I Saw On TVDan Fitzpatrick examines three stocks viewed on Fast Money and Mad Money Today's stocks include Deere & Co., Petrobras and MBIA


04/28/08
One Bank Pick Stumbles, the Other Soars

TheStreet.com Ratings checks in on First Community Bancorp and First Niagara Financial Group two months after recommending the stock.


04/28/08
Grand Theft Auto IV Hits the Jackpot

Take-Two's latest hit receives a perfect score from industry reviewers.


Your Recent Quotes: Quote Up0 | Quote Down0
Dow S&P 500 NASDAQ
Oil*
Gold
10 Yr
0.00%
%
%
%
Data delayed 20 min
Premium Stock Ideas
Access Action Alerts Plus to find out Cramer’s latest picks now!