NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs Group’s top executives will not receive cash bonuses this year, as the Wall Street giant bows to sharp criticism over its pay practices.
The 30 high-ranking executives will instead receive stock that cannot be sold for at least five years, the bank said.
But the restrictions won’t affect the more than 31,000 other employees at the bank, potentially including some of its top traders who could be rewarded handsomely for helping Goldman turn big profits this year.
Banking bonuses have been a hot-button political issue. Financial markets have recovered much faster than the broader economy, and the nation’s unemployment rate sits at 10 percent. Surging financial markets allowed companies like Goldman to rebound and start posting big quarterly profits, while setting aside billions of dollars to pay out year-end bonuses.
Goldman has also been criticized for using $10 billion in government bailout money to help ramp up its aggressive trading practices. Goldman received the money last year as part of the bank rescue program. Goldman paid back the money this summer, allowing it to escape restrictions on compensation.
Trying to stem the negative publicity over the issue, Goldman has said in recent months it was reviewing its pay policies.