JP Morgan Chase chairman Jamie Dimon is the latest senior banker to decline to collect his end-of-year bonus, a trend born of the widespread surge in support for rewards that reflect performance, according to the New York Times.

Citing a source familiar with the matter, the US daily said on Friday that Mr Dimon's deputies are still expected to receive bonuses based on their divisions' performance.

JP Morgan's board will make final decisions on bonuses in January, the paper said. The bank declined to comment to WealthBriefing.

The JP Morgan Chase chief executive caused a fall in financial shares recently when he told the CNBC news channel that November and December had made for a difficult quarter at the bank, adding that the company was prepared to face a similarly tough environment in 2009.

“It’s all going to be unemployment-driven. Unemployment will drive commercial losses, real estate losses, all consumer products’ losses,” Mr Dimon said on air.

Asked whether he saw any end to the macro-economic troubles afflicting the US, he said: “If we are lucky, we will have two more quarters of this and we will start to see a recovery.... It’s possible it’s going to get worse and we’re in for a tougher time."

JP Morgan was given $25 billion under the US treasury department's Troubled Asset Relief Program, but along with a number of TARP participants, the bank has declined to explain how the funds are being spent, according to media reports.

Also, forgoing 2008 bonuses are Lloyd Blankfein, John Thain and John Mack, chief executives of Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, respectively, according to their banks.

Goldman Sachs will limit its partners’ cash payouts to $222,000, although it will also pay them in stock, also according to the NYT.

Citigroup board member and adviser Robert Rubin will also not receive a bonus, according to a source cited in the Financial Times, but the bank declined to comment on the matter, including whether group chairman Vikram Pandit would receive his bonus.  

The Swiss bank told its senior investment bankers last week that they would be paid, in part, by using some of the bank’s troubled investments, the FT said.