Goldman Sachs CEO gets US$10m pay cut in light of 1MDB scandal

[NEW YORK] Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon's annual pay fell by US$10 million or 36 per cent in 2020, according to regulatory disclosures filed on Tuesday, reflecting the bank's role in Malaysia's 1MDB scandal.

Mr Solomon will receive US$17.5 million for his work during the year, compared with US$27.5 million the year before, the bank said.

Goldman previously announced it would reduce Mr Solomon's pay, along with that of chief financial officer Stephen Scherr and chief operating officer John Waldron, in light of the findings of investigations into the bank's role in the affair.

The scandal dates to the government of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, which set up the 1MDB fund in 2009.

Between 2009 and 2014, Goldman bankers paid more than US$1.6 billion in bribes to foreign officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to win 1MDB business, including underwriting US$6.5 billion in bond sales, for which it earned US$600 million in fees, the bank has said.

Mr Waldron will receive US$18.5 million for his work last year, down 24 per cent or US$6 million, from 2019.

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Mr Scherr will be paid US$15.5 million, down 31 per cent or US$7 million, from the previous year.

Were it not for the 1MDB scandal, Mr Solomon and Mr Scherr's pay would have been unchanged from the previous year, the bank said, and Mr Waldron's pay would have risen by US$1 million.

Rival Morgan Stanley's chief executive James Gorman saw his annual pay rise by US$6 million or 22 per cent last year, according to a regulatory filing released on Friday.

Goldman said in October it is clawing back US$174 million from a dozen current and former executives, including Mr Solomon and his predecessor, Lloyd Blankfein. The bank agreed to pay US$2.9 billion to settle probes into its role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.

REUTERS