Overall only 38.8% of the respondents to our 2006 'Bonus Satisfaction' poll said that they were at least satisfied with their bonus lot last year.

Unsurprisingly, front office staff were generally happier with their last bonus payouts, followed by middle and then back office.

Here are the results:

OVERALL

46.6% said they were 'unsatisfied'

14.6% felt 'neutral'

18.1% said that they were 'satisfied'

13.8% said they were 'very satisfied'

6.9% said that their bonus payout 'exceeded expectations'

FRONT OFFICE

44.4% - unsatisfactory

11.9% - neutral

20.9% - satisfied

14.4% - very satisfied

8.4% - exceeded expectations

MIDDLE OFFICE

48.7% - unsatisfactory

14.5% - neutral

16.4% - satisfied

14.3% - very satisfied

6.1% - exceeded expectations

BACK OFFICE

47.9% - unsatisfactory

17.9% - neutral

15.8% satisfied

12.8% - very satisfied

5.6% - exceeded expectations

We can also reveal that financial markets employees who work in the Americas were more satisfied with their bonuses than their counterparts in Europe, Middle East & Africa or Asia-Pac.

41.9% of respondents for the Americas region said that they were satisfied or even happier about last year's bonus, compared to 40.1% in Europe, Middle East & Africa and just 36.2% in the Asia-Pac region.

Here are the full results of our geographical analysis:

Americas Region 

Unsatisfied - 42.1%

Neutral - 16.0%

Satisfied - 17.2%

Very Satisfied - 12.9%

Exceeded Expectations - 11.8%

Europe, Middle East & Africa

Unsatisfied - 45.5%

Neutral - 14.4%

Satisfied - 18.6%

Very Satisfied - 14.6%

Exceeded Expectations - 6.9%

Asia-Pac

Unsatisfied - 45.7%

Neutral - 18.1%

Satisfied - 19.2%

Very Satisfied - 14.2%

Exceeded Expectations - 2.8%

Now, based on the views of our readers, we have been able to compile the following firm '2006 Staff Bonus Satisfaction Index':

1. Goldman Sachs - 94.6% of respondents said that they were at least 'satisfied' with their 2006 bonus payout

2. Credit Suisse - 73.1%

3. Lehman Brothers - 61.6%

4. Barclays Capital - 59.1%

5. BNP Paribas - 58.3%

6. HSBC Investment Bank - 57.4%

7. CIBC World Markets - 57.2%

8. Royal Bank of Scotland - 56.3%

9. Jefferies & Co - 49.8%

10. Commerzbank - 49.3%

11. Dresdner Kleinwort - 47.6%

12. Deutsche Bank - 45.1%

13. UBS Investment Bank - 44.8%

14. Morgan Stanley - 42.8%

15. SG Corporate & Investment Bank - 41.3%

16. Bank of America - 35.5%

17. JPMorgan - 35.2%

18. Merrill Lynch - 34.7%

19. Citigroup - 28.5%

20. ABN AMRO - 25.9%

21. Bank of New York - 23.7%

22. Rabobank - 21.4%

Press here to comment on this story >>

Today in Life: The Crunch in Verse >>

TODAY

• Top Firm Accused Of Bringing Down Lehman
• 'Their Staff...Were Making A Lot More (Than Ours). That Won't Last'
• Top Boss Says Bonuses Will Be 'Solid', But 'Smaller'

THIS WEEK

• 'My Firm Will Never Fire Me. I'm Untouchable!'
• Top Firm Accused Of Bringing Down Lehman
• 'Their Staff...Were Making A Lot More (Than Ours). That Won't Last'