Goldman Sachs delays bonus announcement

 

Goldman Sachs has postponed the expected announcement of its annual bonus pool to staff in London, the Daily Telegraph reported in its Tuesday edition.

The paper said the bank had been due to make the announcement on Monday but told the staff it had been delayed until possibly the end of the month.

It said staff were not given an explanation for the decision but quoted a bank "insider" as saying London's Financial Services Authority watchdog had taken issue with Goldman's bonus arrangements, effectively blocking the plans.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment. "We're not going engage in confirming or denying speculative reports" said Goldman spokesman Lucas van Praag.

Goldman has drawn fire for preparing to shell out more than $20 billion in compensation this year, only months after benefiting from a $10 billion (6 billion pound) U.S. taxpayer bailout, putting the bank in the spotlight on a debate on pay.

Bonus policies at Goldman already included deferred payouts to encourage long-term and sustainable profits.

Britain has announced a one-off 50 percent levy on bankers' bonuses in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The tax has provoked outrage across the banking industry and sparked fears that London will haemorrhage staff and business to rival financial centres.