Goldman could hold Blankfein pay more than 1MDB

The Goldman Sachs Board of Directors has included a special provision in the 2018 bonuses for top performing employees, allowing them to trim their allocations in the light of future findings regarding the 1MDB corruption and fraud scandal.

The Wall Street giant has awarded new general manager David Solomon $ 23 million in salaries and bonuses for 2017, while the outgoing chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, has been awarded $ 20.5 million, which roughly corresponds to the profits of previous years.

However, the board stated that "in the light of ongoing governmental and regulatory investigations relating to the actions of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (" 1MDB ") to all its leaders, could then be reduced or canceled" s & # 39; It was later determined that the results of the transaction "1MDB proceedings would have affected the Compensation Committee's year-end compensation decisions in 2018 for one or the other of these people ".

The highest executives of Goldman Sachs are the 31 partners who sit on the board of directors.

Goldman also retains temporary long-term awards for three former executives who were to be acquired this year pending the outcome of the 1MDB investigation. The company did not reveal which executives, but a person familiar with the situation confirmed the clause relating to Mr. Blankfein, former Goldman Sachs International co-president, Michael Sherwood, and former vice president, Mike Evans. "The committee concluded that it was appropriate to defer its decision under the awards until more information was available. As a result, no amount for LTIP awards has yet been determined or paid, "said Goldman.

The bank insisted that it had committed no fault as an institution involved in the billion-dollar scandal, which Goldman Sachs helped lift up to siphon into a complex money-laundering scheme. money and corruption. One of the bank's partners, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty to participating in the fraud and Goldman faces numerous lawsuits that badysts say could cost him billions of dollars.

The records show that Mr. Solomon's $ 23 million consisted of $ 1.887 million in salary and $ 21.11 million in variable compensation, the ultimate value of which will be determined by the behavior of the bank and its shares in the future. over the next few years. Mr. Solomon had received $ 21 million in 2017 while he was president and co-chief of Goldman's operation.

Blankfein, who stepped down as chief executive on September 30 and chairman at the end of the year, received $ 20.5 million for the year, down from $ 27 million He had received in 2017.

The salary covered a year in which Goldman's shares had fallen by almost 35%, although they have rebounded somewhat since then, after the bank published a set of generally strong annual results, including net income to their bank. highest level since 2010.

Goldman is the third major Wall Street bank to announce its compensation to senior management for 2018. James Gorman, Morgan Stanley's boss, has earned a $ 2 million salary increase, reaching $ 29 million, while Jamie Dimon , boss of JPMorgan Chase, was enjoying a pay raise of $ 1.5 million m.