Top Wall Street banks are on course to pay their dealmakers more than at any point in at least a decade, with M&A bankers set to pull in 30% higher compensation than last year as investment banking fees hit new highs.

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have put more aside in compensation for their investment bankers during the first nine months of 2021 than they have in years. Banks are set to pay big bonuses for key staff and are embroiled in a battle for talent amid record dealmaking fees, which is pushing compensation costs to levels last seen in the boom years before the 2008 financial crisis.