Banks' messy office return — Citi nabs rival bankers — Goldman raises pay

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On the agenda today:

• Wall Street's return to the office is going to get messy. 
• Citi just hired four bankers from BofA and JPMorgan to build out its private-capital-markets team.
• Goldman Sachs is raising pay for staffers in markets, wealth, and research.

Let's get started. 

Wall Street's return to the office is going to be weird

Wall Street is trying to get back to the office — but it hasn't been easy. Some firms have had to rethink their plans as the Delta variant ramps up (see which ones here). And mask and vaccination mandates aren't making the Street's plans to return to the office any easier. Here are all the setbacks making Wall Street's return to work such a hot mess.

Banks are worried about your spending

The Delta variant has consumers spending less — and Wall Street is pretty bummed about it. Amid a dip in spending, both Goldman Sachs and Bank of America slashed their forecasts for third-quarter GDP growth, signaling growing pessimism about economic recovery. Get the latest on the spending slowdown.

Citi just hired four BofA and JPMorgan bankers

Citi is beefing up its private-capital-markets team with a spate of hires from Bank of America and JPMorgan. Here's what that means for the bank.

Goldman raises first-year markets, wealth and research salaries

Following compensation bumps for first-year bankers earlier this month, Goldman Sachs has increased pay for first-year employees in its markets, wealth, and research divisions. Staffers in these departments will now make $110,000, up from $85,000. Take a look at what we know so far.

Delta variant caused one-third of traders to change strategy

The outbreak and spread of the Delta variant led 33% of active stock traders to change their investment strategy to brace for its impact, a Charles Schwab survey found. An increase in exposure to equities, cash or fixed income were the three biggest changes. See what else is worrying traders — and how they're responding to it.

Evercore is raising pay for 2022 associates

The investment bank sent out offer letters for next year's first-year associates, who saw a $25,000 pay bump — bringing their yearly salary to $185,000. Despite compensation inflating across the Street (which we've broken down here by bank), Evercore is now leading the market when it comes to associate pay. More on Evercore's pay raises.

On our radar: 

• A $17 billion wealth manager explains how to make your pandemic move permanent and lower your tax bill. Here's her advice.
• Another SPAC deal has fallen apart after Topps trading cards terminated the merger with its sponsor. Get the rundown here. 
• This writer grew up in Portland, and loved it. But he says he'll never move back — even though he can work from anywhere. Read his powerful essay here.
• Goldman Sachs and its former in-house attorney have ended their retaliation suit, per law.com. More on that here.