Goldman slashes top executives’ bonuses after public pressure

But Goldman has answered critics in recent months by announcing top managers would be paid no cash, all stock bonuses, and by surprisingly capping its compensation pool at $16.2 billion for the year -- well short of the $20 billion record set in 2007. It has also made larger charitable contributions than in other years.

“He has quickly gotten religion in terms of being responsive to the ill populist winds that are blowing in his face,” said David Dietze, chief investment officer at Point View Financial Services, a Goldman Sachs shareholder. “The citizenry is just outraged that these companies, which took TARP, so quickly turned around and forgot their humble bailouts and are showering themselves with cash.”

Goldman received and later repaid a $10 billion taxpayer from the US Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, but also benefited from the rescue of its counterparts, including American International Group Inc, and through cheap borrowing from the Federal Reserve.

If Goldman has managed its way through a difficult year in terms of public relations, some are convinced that 2009 bonuses will be a mere blip for the firm known for its payouts.

“They got paid pretty well the past couple of years, so maybe they can just pay themselves less well this year, then maybe it blows over in a year or two and they can start paying themselves pretty handsomely again,” said Blake Howells, director of equity research at Becker Capital in Portland, Oregon.

He called the pay amount “small and pretty restrictive.”
Dimon’s bonus was in a mixture of restricted shares and options, and he did not take a cash bonus.

Goldman Sachs shares closed up 2.3 percent on Friday at $154.16.