Goldman Sachs Chief Executive, David M Solomon saw his 2022 pay slashed by nearly 30 per cent, following missteps that have weighed on the elite Wall Street bank's profits and performance, according to the New York Times.
Solomon earned USD 25 million last year, down from USD 35 million last year, the bank reported in a filing on Friday.
Although that paycheck was still hefty compensation by most standards, Solomon ceded his title as the highest-paid bank chief executive to Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, whose pay for 2022 was USD 35 million, a newspaper reported.
The salary cut
The salary cut followed an ugly period for Goldman and Solomon. The bank has admitted to billions in losses from its experiment in consumer banking, and is retrenching from big plans to build checking accounts and other products for modest borrowers.
Solomon's brusque style, meanwhile, has produced grumblings inside the firm and contributed to a string of senior departures, the daily newspaper said.
This month, the firm laid off 3,200 employees, the heaviest such job cuts since the financial crisis of 2008.
In the report on Friday, Goldman's board acknowledged their unhappiness by stating that Solomon's pay cut was due to "the firm's performance, both on an absolute basis and relative to peer performances in 2022."
David Solomon as CEO
Solomon, who has served as the bank's CEO since 2018, had his salary reduced in 2020 after Goldman pleaded to criminal wrongdoing for aiding in the theft of Malaysia's national wealth fund.
According to documents, Solomon's compensation drop also places him below Morgan Stanley's James Gorman and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, who each made USD 32 million.
According to the New York Times, senior executives' pay at Wall Street banks can vary from year to year depending on the performance of their companies.
