Goldman's Blankfein gets $12.6 mn 2010 stock bonus

NEW YORK: Goldman Sachs gave Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein a $12.6 million stock bonus for 2010, an increase from $9 million in restricted stock a year earlier. Blankfein, 56, received 78,111 shares on Jan 26, according to a filing yesterday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

At the closing price of $161.31 that day, the shares would be valued at $12.6 million. New York-based Goldman Sachs also raised Blankfein’s base salary to $2 million this year from $600,000, according to a separate filing.

Goldman Sachs, the fifth-largest US bank by assets, reported 2010 earnings dropped 38% from a record in 2009 as revenue from trading stocks and bonds fell from an all-time high. The firm set aside 39% of revenue to pay employees in 2010, up from 36% in 2009, the lowest ratio ever.

Chief Financial Officer David Viniar, President Gary Cohn, and Vice Chairmen J Michael Evans and John S 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.

The firm also raised the base salary for those four executives to $1.85 million each, according to the filing. Each had been paid $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 $1.75 million from $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 $7.4 million for his 2010 performance. Blankfein’s latest bonus falls far short of the Wall Street record that he set with his $67.9 million bonus in 2007.