£4.1bn bonus bonanza for bank staff

Staff at investment banking giant Goldman Sachs earned a mammoth 6.65 billion US dollars (£4.1 billion) in pay and bonuses during a bumper second quarter for the group, it emerged today.

Compensation and benefits were 47 per cent higher to reflect revenues soaring to a record 13.8 billion dollars (£8.5 billion) as improving financial markets buoyed the business.

The bank, which has more than 5,000 staff in the UK, also delivered a 65 per cent rise in second-quarter profits of 3.44 billion US dollars (£2.1 billion) - well above expectations.

Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said: "While markets remain fragile and we recognise the challenges the broader economy faces, our second quarter results reflected the combination of improving financial market conditions and a deep and diverse client franchise."

Goldman Sachs took 10 billion dollars (£6.1 billion) from the US Government's bail-out funds at the height of the crisis last October, but repaid the cash in June.