Bonuses fail to match expectations

Bonus speculation is now over as the banks pay out, with the exception of Royal Bank of Scotland, which will not pay bonuses until June.

Show me the money

Bonuses appear to have been a mixed bag, with the majority of headhunters reporting that this year has seen the biggest gap between expectations and reality, both good and bad.

A London-based headhunter, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "The Goldman Sachs bonuses this year completely blew everyone away, compared with what they were expecting. Plus they were combined with a juicy salary hike, so people got a warm feeling after the bonus round."

On the flip side, employees at other banks