The annual bonus - the jargon explained
I love the idea that we need expert help to understand the banking sector. The legal universe perhaps, no maybe all businesses have their precisions. As we come into bonus decision season, the important point to note is that your RIGHT to bonus may be as illusory as the layman hearing about vanillas, swaps and FX (not the science film thing!?). The key is what your contract says (connected to performance, at the bank's discretion, at their limited discretion if certain tests are met). If nothing's in writing then what is their custom and practice? Talent is at a premium these days, so let's see how the improving economy shakes out.
The jargon bandied about by pinstriped City professionals can be so impenetrable that it sounds like a foreign language spoken only by rich young men. Thankfully, veteran US financial commentator Jason Zweig has compiled a lexicon to assist the lowly layman in understanding those who have been described as “masters of the universe”.”
