Bonuses at investment banks will be down by an average of 30% to 50% this year compared with last year, with up to 20% of staff at some banks receiving nothing at all, according to a European survey by the headhunter Armstrong International.

Top performers, however, can still expect to be well rewarded. Aidan Kennedy, a partner at Armstrong, said: "There will be a strong bias in favour of the best. Their bonuses will be typically flat or down by no more than 20%."