'There are a lot of unhappy people' – Lehman bonuses anger Nomura staff

A storm is brewing at Nomura over the guaranteed bonuses being paid to top employees of the defunct investment house Lehman Brothers, chunks of which were bought by the Japanese bank last month.

Lehman's top bankers have been told they will receive bonuses equivalent to last year's, in cash, if they stay with Nomura until the autumn of 2009.

However, existing Nomura staff will not enjoy the same guarantees – a disparity that is driving a wedge between the two sets of employees. One staff member of the Japanese giant said: "Nobody at Nomura is under any illusion which lot is wearing the trousers, but it's tough to watch them lap up the big bonuses while we suffer. There are a lot of unhappy senior people."

A spokesman for Nomura declined to comment.

So far, 80 per cent of Lehman's senior European bankers have agreed to stay, having been offered two-year guarantees valued at over $1m each.