BANGALORE, INDIA - Following a Morgan Stanley plan unveiled last week, Citigroup and Bank of America are likely to soon raise base salaries for investment bankers to compensate for limits on annual bonuses, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co are not considering an increase in base pay, the paper added.

BOA spokeswoman Jessica Oppenheim was quoted as telling the paper that 'pressures in the investment-banking and capital-markets businesses continue to be intense', adding that the bank would 'take the steps necessary to retain key employees'.

Goldman and JPMorgan declined to comment, the paper said. BOA, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Goldman could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.

Morgan Stanley said last week that it raised the base salaries of senior officers to US$800,000, but does not plan to raise total compensation.