• Wall Street bonus season, when bankers really make their money, is nearly upon us.
  • People familiar with the big banks’ bonus schedules have provided an outline of when each bank is expected to announce bonuses.

While most of us experience a mix of excitement and apprehension in the weeks approaching Christmas, for bankers the feeling comes a month later.

2017 is officially in the books, and Wall Street is headed toward its favorite time of the year: bonus season.

Yes, bankers typically make healthy, six-figure base salaries, but the annual bonus is where the best on Wall Street really get rich.

Not everyone is sharing the same level of enthusiasm and seasonal spirit, however. Some parts of Wall Street are looking at much fatter paydays than others. Traders had a rough year in 2017, while investment bankers are looking at a rebound in compensation after a strong performance this past year.

The announcements are expected to start rolling in as soon as the end of this week.

Business Insider spoke with people familiar with bonus schedules at the big banks. Bonus dates have been known to change at the last moment, but based on the current thinking, here's when Wall Street's top banks are expected to announce bonuses:

  • Morgan Stanley is set to kick things off this Thursday. A person familiar with the matter said the bank would also announce managing-director promotions.
  • Citigroup is next up the following week. It is expected to announce just after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, so January 16.
  • JPMorgan is expected to announce in the middle of that week, around January 17.
  • Goldman Sachs is expected to announce at the end of next week, so around January 19.
  • Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the last to go of the big US banks. It is expected to announce the following week, in the neighborhood of January 25 - though that could shift a bit because the date is more than two weeks away.

The bonuses are typically paid out a week or two after they are announced.

Representatives from each of the banks declined to comment.

Europe's largest banks report earnings after the US banks and start announcing bonuses afterward as well, usually in early February.

If you have any insights into bonus season (comp numbers, expected dates, tips, advice, tales of success, excess, or horror stories), feel free to send an email to [email protected].

Frank Chaparro contributed to this report.