Goldman UK staff to enjoy huge payouts
THE London operations of Goldman Sachs, based in the Daily Telegraph’s and the DailyExpress’s old Fleet Street office, have been key to the bank’s success and some of its City players stand to net massive pay packages as a result.
The bank has set aside $16.7bn (£10.3bn) for compensation in the first nine months of the year, equating to an average salary of $527,192 for each of the bank’s 31,700 employees worldwide. If the bank were to repeat its strong performance in the year to date during the fourth quarter, the average compensation package, including bonus and benefits, could top $700,000.
However, plenty of Goldman’s big beasts in London are likely to receive well in excess of $1m for their efforts.
Chief among them are Michael Sherwood, co-chief executive of the bank’s European operations and group vice chairman, as well as Gary Cohn, the group’s London-based president and chief operating officer.
Sherwood’s fellow co-chief executive in Europe Richard Gnodde, who was one of the chief bankers on Mittal’s £17bn bid for Arcelor, is also in line for a hefty payout.
Julian Metherell, who runs investment banking in the UK, senior M&A banker Simon Dingemans and managing director in investment banking Karen Cook should also take home weighty pay packets.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable yesterday hit out at the bank, saying it was “farcical that so soon after the reckless greed of bankers brought the world economy to its knees, we are seeing a return to business as usual”.
But Goldman, along with its fellow foreign investment banks in London, has signed up to abide by the FSA and G20 rules on remuneration meaning that any bonuses are likely to be deferred, subject to clawback and paid in a higher proportion of shares than in previous years.