Goldman Sachs again shows the way on pay

A strange one-up battle had developed on Wall Street between JPMorgan (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS), a sort-of competition to see who could pay their CEO less. There was speculation that both were waiting for the other side to make their move. Turns out Goldman Sachs won--in that it is paying CEO Lloyd Blankfein and the other top dogs just $9 million each in restricted stock that won't be cashable for five years. JPMorgan gave CEO Jamie Dimon a deal worth $17 million.

These are small sums by historic standards. Recall that Blankfein got $68 million in 2007, a third of that in cash. While the critics are out in force, Goldman Sachs has shown a surprising restraint on pay issues. I was shocked that it took its compensation ratio to such low levels. And I am equally surprised at Blankfein's 2009 bonus--recall the rumors (and one published report) held that he could receive as much as $100 million. The issue, however, is what sort of regulation would be good for the industry. It's never wise to get punitive with big regulatory efforts. We'll see if Blankfein is creating any goodwill. 

For more:
- here's a Washington Post article

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