[sunnyatlast]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Jim

Those huge Wall Street Salaries and Bonuses are at " Investment Banking Firms " not Commercial Banks such as Chase , Citi , Bank of America .
Investment Bankers are the " Realtors " of businesses . They take companies from Private Companies to Publicly Traded Companies .
When two Piublic Companies wish to merge or when one Public Company wishes to outright purchase another each side must hire an Investment Banking Firm to opine on the structure of the proposed deal to represent the interests of the shareholders . Much more complicated and involved than you might think .
These firms only hire the best and the brightest from the best Undergrad and MBA schools in the US . The major work is done by these young employees who literally work 16 hours a day and often 7 days per week . It is an " up or out " dog eat dog work environment . Very very few last long enough to make Partner which is where the huge bonuses are handed out . The large majority of the young workforce last only 2 to 3 years max .Then they are replaced by brand new degreed eager beavers .
These are not the banks that deal with the general public . However a few of the major money-center commercial banks do have an Investment Banking Division but it is a far cry from the activities of the Commercial Banking activities and salary / compensation structure .

They can HAVE it.