Goldman Sachs bonuses raise concerns on Wall Street

Goldman Sachs is catching fresh heat over massive bonuses it has pledged to CEO David Solomon and his No.2 executive John Waldron — with powerful shareholder voting advisors slamming the payouts as “excessive” and “poor practice.”A pair of so-called proxy advisory firms, which counsel investors on how to vote at the annual meetings of big public companies, ripped an $80 million retention bonus for 63-year-old Solomon — a lavish sum that sparked outrage among the rank and file when the bank revealed it in late January.Goldman also is handing out an $80 million retention bonus to John Waldron, the Wall Street giant’s 55-year-old operating chief who recently has become the reported frontrunner to eventually succeed Solomon, according to securities filings.In a report published late on Monday, Institutional Shareholder Services called the payouts “poor practice,” griping that the proposed packages “lack rigorous, pre-set performance criteria, which is particularly concerning for off-cycle awards with such large values.”In the note to clients, ISS called on shareholders to vote against the lavish bonuses at Goldman’s April shareholder meeting, citing the “magnitude and structure” of the golden handcuffs payments that will fully vest in five years.ISS’s attack followed a similar broadside from influential proxy adviser Glass Lewis on Friday, which ripped Goldman over its “continued inability to align pay with performance.” The problem is “exacerbated by the decision to grant excessive retention awards to Messrs.

Solomon and Waldron just following the end of the fiscal year,” Glass Lewis wrote in its own report.“The provided discussion regarding the rationale in the proxy statement is far from robust,” the firm added.The eye-popping sums, subject to being signed off by the bank’s compensation committee, were seen as a play to keep Solomon and Waldron with the firm.Last month, the Financial Times reported that Waldron was eyeing...