Rothschild pays out record bonuses to staff

Alongside its pro-forma group-wide results, Rothschild unveiled a joint venture with Rabobank of the Netherlands

Times Online | Nov 19, 2008

By Patrick Hosking

Not all investment bankers are having to get by on reduced or no bonuses this year. Rothschild group staff have received record bonuses, it has emerged after the bank reported a 31 per cent improvement in profits before tax to €459 million.

Record results from both its advisory and private banking operations enabled the bank to pay the bonuses to its 2,700 people in June.

Unlike conventional investment banks Rothschild, whose chairman is Davide de Rothschild, has steered clear of proprietary trading, prime broking and other activities that have devastated rivals, although it still wrote off €96 million because of souring loans.

Rothschild’s year-end of March means the bonuses were paid before the most serious setbacks to banks. Most investment banks pay out bonuses between January and May. Goldman Sachs is due to tell its staff the size of their payouts in the next three weeks.

Alongside its pro-forma group-wide results, Rothschild unveiled a joint venture with Rabobank of the Netherlands, whereby the two sides will pool their staff and clients in the food and agriculture sector.

As part of the deal, Rabobank is buying a 7.5 per cent stake in one of the key holding companies in the Rothschild empire, Rothschild Continuation Holdings, which owns the N M Rothschild business in the UK.

Rabobank becomes the second biggest investor outside the family after the trading group Jardine Matheson, which owns 20 per cent. Rabobank’s vice chairman Sipko Schat joins the Rothschild board.

It is the second joint venture with a Dutch bank. Rothschild teamed up with ABN Amro for 11 years in equity capital markets before dissolving the arrangement when Royal Bank of Scotland took over ABN last year.

Rabobank’s stake was held in treasury by Rothschild after it bought it from the insurer Eagle Star. No price was put on the deal. Jardine paid $185 million for its 20 per cent in 2005.

Rothschild advisory clients include Rio Tinto, which is fighting a hostile bid from BHP, British Energy in its deal with EDF of France and Alliance & Leicester when it was sold to Banco Santander.