Top executives at Goldman Sachs will receive no bonus for 2008 after the Wall Street group’s seven most senior bankers waived their right to a payout. The move, which is likely to put pressure on other banks to follow suit, comes after a turbulent year in which Goldman converted itself into a commercial bank and received a $10bn capital injection from the US government. It also follows intense scrutiny of Wall Street bonuses from legislators and regulators. Goldman’s compensation committee at the weekend approved what a spokesman said was a voluntary request from executives including Lloyd Blankfein, the bank’s chairman and chief executive, not to pay bonuses for 2008. Other executives to waive their payouts include Jon Winkelreid and Gary Cohn, Goldman’s co-presidents; chief financial officer David Viniar, and Michael Evans, Michael Sherwood and John Weinberg, who are all vice-chairmen of the bank.
