Once upon a time the bulge-bracket banks were over subscribed at campus recruiting events as soon to be minted undergrads and MBA's lined-up for an opportunity to launch their career as an investment banker. Before the great recession, bankers were idolized and epitomized for their power, financial prowess, big-ticket deal-making skills, and big payday's. Alas the tide has turned. Today bankers are trashed by the White House and Congress, campus recruiting lines are skimpy, JQ Public despises them, bonus checks are getting thinner to non-existent, and financial "clawbacks" are becoming more common. We can all agree that bankers are not the most lovable professionals out there, but they are as critical to the free market economy as the banking system itself, and if they went out on strike, the capital markets would grind to a halt. My sense is that this bonus cycle is the trough for bankers, and come next season, there will be renewed recruiting and a corresponding uptick in compensation.

Tony LoPinto is the Global Sector Leader of Korn/Ferry International's Real Estate Practice and founder of SelectLeaders. The views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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