Wall Street green season can be a mean season

By Tim McLaughlin

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street bonuses could soar more than 20 percent this year amid record profit, but that doesn't mean everyone will be happy.

There are bound to be hurt feelings, bouts of jealousy and sudden departures after the bonus pie is sliced up.

Expectations are sky high, and Wall Street is battling to dampen enthusiasm to keep emotions in check.

Good luck.

Through the first three quarters, combined net earnings have surged 61 percent to $29.73 billion at leading Wall Street investment banks JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Wall Street's calculus of who gets what and how much can cast a pall on what's supposed to be an occasion for revelry. Investment banks typically award bonuses between December and February, after completing their fiscal year.

"Yes, bonus discussions can get pretty ugly," Wall Street veteran Mark Davis, managing director of investment banking at Gleacher Partners, said at the Reuters Investment Banking Summit in New York.

Before joining the boutique investment firm in May, Davis was chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s mergers and acquisitions group.  Continued...