Pay for 120 London bankers at Goldman Sachs rises to £2.6m

Goldman reported that its total compensation and benefits pot was $12.69bn

Staff at the Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs each received more than $370,000 (£243,000) on average in remuneration last year, but senior London bankers’ bonuses probably rose to £2.58m.

Goldman reported yesterday that its total compensation and benefits pot for 2014 was $12.69bn. That represents an average payout for each of the bank’s 34,000 employees, who range from high-flying traders to IT staff, of $373,264.

That is down slightly on the equivalent remuneration figure per Goldman employee for 2013 – $380,000. The total size of the compensation pot grew 0.6 per cent but there was a 3 per cent increase in staff numbers over the 12 months. The ratio of total pay to revenues for the year also fell slightly to 36.8 per cent, against 36.9 per cent in 2013.

However, the average financial rewards for Goldman’s partners will be far higher than these average cash figures suggest. Research based on regulatory filings last month showed that 120 senior Goldman bankers based in London received bonuses of £2.57m on average for their work in 2013. That was roughly twice the bonus per worker received by the most senior staff at the 13 other leading investment banks operating in the City. Assuming the pay of these so-called “code staff” increased in line with the overall compensation pot, that implies the senior London-based bankers each received £2.58m in bonuses in 2014. Karen Cook, the president of Goldman in Europe, is expected to receive between £3m and £6m.

Goldman also released its fourth-quarter results yesterday. These showed profits of $2bn, down 10 per cent on the same period a year earlier. Total revenues in the quarter were $7.7bn, down 12 per cent year-on-year. Income from market making collapsed by 22 per cent on a year earlier. Investment banking revenues were down 16 per cent.

Full-year revenues for 2014 were $34.5bn, up 1 per cent on 2013. Profits were $8bn, 5 per cent higher. Basic earnings per share rose 7 per cent to $17.55. Goldman’s chief executive and chairman, Lloyd Blankfein, said that he was “pleased with our performance during a year characterised by mixed global economic and financial conditions”.