From the London Financial Times comes this good news from Goldman Sachs:
Top seven at Goldman forgo bonusesNice to see that they are realizing that people are watching a lot more closely these days and although the bailout and the bonuses are not necessarily the same dollars, it still looks really bad for the company...
Top executives at Goldman Sachs will receive no bonus for 2008 after the Wall Street group�s seven most senior bankers waived their right to a payout.
The move, which is likely to put pressure on other banks to follow suit, comes after a turbulent year in which Goldman converted itself into a commercial bank and received a $10bn capital injection from the US government. It also follows intense scrutiny of Wall Street bonuses from legislators and regulators.
Goldman�s compensation committee yesterday approved the request from executives including Lloyd Blankfein, the bank�s chairman and chief executive, not to pay bonuses for 2008.
Other executives giving up their payouts include Jon Winkelreid and Gary Cohn, Goldman�s co-presidents; chief financial officer David Viniar, and Michael Evans, Michael Sherwood and John Weinberg, who are all vice-chairmen of the bank.
A Goldman spokesman said the bankers decided to waive their bonus voluntarily. �Our senior executive officers made this decision because they believe it is the right thing to do. We cannot ignore the fact that we are part of an industry that is directly associated with the ongoing economic problems.�
Fuelled by its enormous profits, Goldman has in recent years topped the league tables for executive bonuses. Last year, which was a record year for Goldman, Mr Blankfein was paid $68.5m in cash and stock, while Mr Cohn and Mr Winkelreid were each paid $67.5m. Mr Viniar received $57.5m. Goldman does not disclose the pay of Mr Evans, Mr Sherwood and Mr Weinberg.
Leave a comment