Citi Halves Bankers' Bonuses

Leading financial services outfit

Citigroup

(C) - Get Free Report

has slashed its investment bankers' bonuses by up to half, according to a published report.

The news comes only two days after CEO Sanford Weill said he would

give up any 2002 bonus, in light of the company's poor stock performance. Shares of the bank lost a quarter of their value last year, amid claims of biased research and charges that the firm had engaged in unethical behavior related to

Enron

.

Bloomberg

news service said M&A specialists at Citibank saw some of the deepest cuts in bonuses -- no surprise, given that the IPO market has been moribund over the past couple of years. M&A activity reportedly dropped off 11% last year on the heels of a much steeper fall-off in 2000.

It was only the latest in a series of recent announcements that underscore Wall Street's difficulties and reeling morale. Earlier today,

J.P. Morgan

(JPM) - Get Free Report

revealed in a filing that CEO William Harrison took a cut in his stock and options bonus last year.

Reuters

reported that Harrison was granted stock worth about $2.3 million, with options to buy another 316,873 shares at $21.87 each.

Also today, the head of stock research at

Merrill Lynch

(MER)

stepped down. Only last week the firm's top research director announced his exit.