Paying in philanthropic dollars

GOLDMAN Sachs partners donate part of their pay cheques to charity, and to date, they have given away US$680 million, said Gary D Cohn, Goldman Sachs president and chief operating officer.

The bank has seen both corporate philanthropy and personal giving from its 400-plus partners.

Last week, a New York Times report called Goldman the "savviest trading house on Wall Street" and said that "it has staked out a position as one of the United States' leading corporate philanthropists, giving away more than US$1.6 billion since 2008".