Goldman Sachs bankers aren't rich any more


Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) took a knife to the bonuses of its partners. It may be saving a lot of money, but many of the senior managers are going to have to sell their expensive homes.

According to the FT, "Partners at Goldman Sachs are set to see their bonuses fall by up to 80 percent this year and the cash component of their year-end packages capped at $400,000." They will get the balance of their pay in stock and options.

The move seems fair. Goldman just had its first quarterly loss since going public. The firm's stock has dropped from a 52-week high of $217.80 to $78.78. What the move does not acknowledge is that all bankers are not created equal.

Goldman's results would have been worse if some units at the investment house had not done well. For example, the firm announced that net revenues in its asset management and securities services operation were $7.97 billion for the year, 11% higher than 2007. The executives running that unit should have made a small fortune.

Wall St. runs the risk of the retirement or defection of some of its best people because they are being put into the same bucket as many of the worst people. Doing that will make rebuilding the industry harder.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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