By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Wall Street bonuses grew by 17 percent last year, heading back to their record levels before the financial crisis hit — and taxpayers had to bailout banks — according to a report released by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on Tuesday.
Bonuses rose to an estimated $20.3 billion in 2009 as Wall Street profits could soar to an "unprecedented" $55 billion, DiNapoli said. That's three times greater than the previous growth record, thanks in large part to the record losses of 2008.
“For most Americans, these huge bonuses are a bitter pill and hard to comprehend,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “There’s a lot of resentment against the industry over its role in the global economic meltdown.”
At Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase — all firms that received bailout money — compensation increased by 31 percent in 2009, according to the report. Average compensation rose by 27 percent to more than $340,000.
Much of Wall Street's success comes from the broker-dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange firms, which earned a record $49.9 billion through the first three-quarters of 2009.
The report notes that the bonus pool was spread across fewer workers as Wall Street cut 16.7 percent of its workforce between November 2007 and April 2009.
The estimate is based on bonuses and deferred compensation for which taxes have been prepaid. The numbers do not include stock options that have not been cashed in or other forms of deferred compensation.
DiNapoli reported that the 2009 estimated bonus pool is a third less than the amount paid two years prior, the previous most profitable year.
