Goldman Sachs Group Inc gave chairman and chief executive officer Lloyd Blankfein a US$12.6 million stock bonus for last year, an increase from US$9 million in restricted stock a year earlier.
Blankfein, 56, received 78,111 shares on Jan. 26, according to a filing on Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. At the closing price of US$161.31 that day, the shares would be valued at US$12.6 million. New York-based Goldman Sachs also raised Blankfein’s base salary to US$2 million this year from US$600,000, according to a separate filing.
EARNINGS DROP
Goldman Sachs, the fifth-largest US bank by assets, reported last year’s earnings dropped 38 percent from a record in 2009 as revenue from trading stocks and bonds fell from an all-time high. The firm set aside 39 percent of revenue to pay employees last year, up from 36 percent in 2009, the lowest ratio ever.
Chief financial officer David Viniar, president Gary Cohn and vice chairmen J. Michael Evans and John Weinberg each also received 78,111 restricted shares, according to separate filings. For 2009, Blankfein was awarded 58,381 restricted stock units, the amount given to those four deputies.
Blankfein’s latest bonus falls far short of the Wall Street record that he set with his US$67.9 million bonus in 2007. The shares vest over three years and can’t be sold for five years.
INCREASED BASE
The firm also raised the base salary for those four executives to US$1.85 million each, according to the filing. Each had been paid US$600,000 previously.
Banks have been raising base salaries in response to increased pressure from regulators on bonuses. Regulators including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission are drafting rules on pay meant to limit practices considered risky.
Citigroup Inc boosted CEO Vikram Pandit’s base salary to US$1.75 million from US$1 after the bank’s first profit for a year under his watch. James Gorman, Morgan Stanley’s top executive since last January, was awarded deferred stock and options valued at about US$7.4 million for his performance last year.
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