Brokerages To Drop Signing Bonuses

Paine Webber Group Inc. plans to stop offering signing bonuses to lure brokers from other firms, and Merrill Lynch & Co. is considering a similar move.

The two firms are toeing a line laid out in an April report by an industry panel formed to clean up the image of brokerage firms. The panel, which included Merrill Chairman Daniel P. Tully, recommended firms stop paying brokers signing bonuses as an incentive to leave their current jobs and instead offer fixed salaries.

Paine Webber will stop paying signing bonuses to new brokers at the end of the year, according to people familiar with the situation. A spokeswoman for the firm declined comment.

Merrill, the biggest U.S. brokerage, is considering an end to upfront payments, a spokeswoman said, and will make a decision within a month.