Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) set aside a combined $39.9 billion for pay in 2009, below the 2007 record of $44.7 billion, according to Bloomberg. The total fell well short of the $46.1 billion that was expected by analysts and much lower than I thought.

Frankly, I did not think management would lower their compensation-revenue ratio as dramatically as they did. My sense was that they would rather take their lumps with the public and mount appropriate PR campaigns rather than cut payouts. This certainly highlights the weight of public and regulatory pressure. The top execs are certainly taking more in stock, but the old debate rages about whether this leads to better performance. This may be a one-year phenomenon. Next year, after the political headwinds have calmed down, we just might see compensation ratios head right back up. 

For more:
- here's the Bloomberg article

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