London Currency Traders All Set To Get Lower Bonuses

London currency market has been facing a number of rigging scandals which drew the attention of the regulators in the last few years. If you think that the currency market cannot be rigged, you better be careful. Regulators have been investigating a number of London currency market rigging complaints. Currency traders are likely to see a 43 percent decline in payouts for 2014, compared with a 41 percent jump projected for colleagues on commodities desks, according to estimates by the salary benchmarking website. The average bonus paid to currency and commodities traders for last year was 134,000 pounds ($218,000) and 106,000 pounds, respectively, it said.

The $5.3 trillion-a-day currency market is under investigation amid allegations that dealers leaked confidential client information and colluded to rig benchmarks. Revenue from foreign-exchange trading is also being squeezed amid weaker client activity, as regulators strive to rein in excessive compensation to prevent another financial crisis. The European Union has banned bonuses exceeding more than twice fixed pay.