Top US firm Cravath Swaine & Moore has announced its year-end bonus, dampening expectations that Wall Street’s elite firms would ditch annual bonuses in the face of the slowing US economy.

Cravaths, one of Manhattan’s highest paying firms, will pay bonuses of between $20,000 (£14,170) and $50,000 (£35,420), depending on seniority. This constitutes a 50% cut on last year’s award.