Metals Traders Worth $3 Million Amid Shortages as Wall Street Pay Shrinks...

After a year when U.S. President Barack Obama signed a law curbing risk-taking on Wall Street and pay at banks fell, metals traders are reaping bonus bonanzas.

The traders probably earned as much as 20 percent more last year than in 2009, with the most-profitable getting $2 million to $3 million, said Peter Henry, head of front-office search at Commodity Search Partners Ltd. The figure, confirmed by three other recruiters who declined to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly, compares with no change to a drop of 10 percent in pay across commodities personnel.

“Metals traders are an exception when there’s pressure on banks to cut remuneration,” New York-based Henry said. They “are making more money than other parts of the banks and the bonuses reflect that to some extent,” he said.

Metals traders are setting up for another banner year, with Barclays Capital predicting shortages and higher prices in copper, nickel and tin. Average pay across JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s investment bank and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell last year and Morgan Stanley cut its investment bank’s compensation pool, filings showed last week. The Dodd-Frank Act signed in July seeks to stop compensation that spurs too much risk-taking.