Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) has given some of its top London-employees millions of dollars’ worth of free stock after a decision to cap their compensation levels.
The stock awards were first reported by Mark Kleinman of Sky who sourced unidentified people close to the investment bank. He said that the awards were made in August after they were discussed with the U.K. Financial Services Authority.
The report said that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS)’s employees in London had their 2009 salary and bonuses capped at 1 million GBP, meaning that they would be earning less than their counterparts in other areas of the world. The report suggested that the cap was a report to then finance minister Alistair Darling’s decision to impose a 50% tax on cash bonus awards of more than 25,000 pounds.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (Goldman Sachs) is a bank holding and a global investment banking, securities and investment management company. The Company provides a range of financial services to customers, including corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Its depository institution subsidiary, Goldman Sachs Bank USA (GS Bank USA), is a New York State-chartered bank. It operates in three segments: Investment Banking, Trading and Principal Investments and Asset Management and Securities Services. In March 2010, the Company’s subsidiaries sold the La Francia mine and related infrastructure assets, including Concession 5160, and Adromi Capital Corp., the holder of the La Francia II concession, to a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. In May 2010, Nexen Inc. sold its natural gas trading operations to a unit of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) added up 2.16% during mid-day trading on Friday.
