Goldman Sachs to pay bonuses in stock

This seems to be a good move from several angles: Goldman Sachs (GS) has announced it will not pay its 30 top executives a cash bonus for 2009. Instead it will pay bonuses in stock that cannot be sold for five years. Which seems long. I would have guessed three years. This may not end the bonus controversy on Wall Street or at Goldman Sachs. But it is a decent move that certainly can't hurt from a PR perspective.

The bank will likely compensate the executives for foregoing cash by perhaps sweetening their stock grant. If the bank sticks to 50 percent of revenue as the yardstick, the stock awards are going to be sizable. Over the long-term, the stock is probably a good bet. They of course can borrow against this if they have to. And if the controversy has died down, I would expect a return to cash bonuses in 2010. Goldman also announced on that it will give shareholders a nonbinding say on compensation. We'll likely see other banks follow suit. Goldman Sachs is probably not done on the PR front. We may get some charitable news soon. We'll wait and see if this steals and thunder from Kenneth Feinberg, who is geared up to have a say on executive 26 through 100 at TARP banks. 

For more:
- here's the New York Times article

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