American Bank Jefferies and Potential Acquisition by SMBC: A Concern for Senior British Bankers
American bank Jefferies may be considering a potential acquisition by SMBC, its Japanese partner, but within the bank, there is a group of people who are likely more concerned about other matters – its most senior British bankers.
Insight from Pillar 3 Disclosures
Pillar 3 disclosures for Jefferies International Limited, the American bank’s main London subsidiary, provide some interesting insights. It reveals compensation details for the firm’s material risk takers (MRTs), who are employees with a significant impact on the firm’s risk profile, as well as those earning over £660k. This essentially covers all managing directors in the investment bank and a large portion of its sales and trading professionals.
For the year ending 30 November 2025, Jefferies paid its MRTs an average of £1.3m ($1.7m), with £617k ($820k) from fixed compensation and £696k ($926k) from variable compensation. This marked a decrease from the previous year, where MRTs earned an average of £743k ($988k) in fixed compensation and £753k ($1m) in variable compensation.
Jefferies had 54 MRTs in its London office as of November 2025, including its senior management team, compared to 47 in the previous year. The bank does not disclose how many of its MRTs are specifically involved in investment banking.
Concerns and Trends
The data reveals a downward trend in compensation for Jefferies’ MRTs over the past few years. While the bank paid better in 2025 compared to 2023, there has been a decline in pay overall. This might raise concerns among the senior British bankers at Jefferies.
It is worth noting that Jefferies’ approach to compensation may differ from other banks, possibly due to its size and structure.
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