Wall Street Banks Prep Pay Bonanza

Large pay packages may be back already at Wall Street firms this year, according to a report Thursday.

Goldman Sachs (GS Quote) is on track to pay its employees $20 billion this year, which adds up to $700,000 per head, The Wall Street Journal says, citing analyst estimates. That would be even bigger than 2007's total of $661,000.

Pay at Morgan Stanley (MS Quote) may also come close to 2007 levels, according to a report from Credit Suisse analyst Howard Chen, cited by the Journal.

Many on Wall Street, including Goldman spokesman Lucas van Praag have cautioned it is way too early to make such lofty projections about year-end compensation.