Goldman staff to share £2.4bn

Staff at investment bank Goldman Sachs are to share $3.8 billion (£2.4bn) in pay and bonuses put aside for the third quarter - in a move fiercely criticised by unions.

The haul brings the total value of the pot earmarked so far for the first nine months of the year to $13.1bn, although this is 21 per cent down on a year earlier.

The figures came as the bank, which employs some 5,500 staff in the UK, posted net profit of $1.7bn in the three months to 30 September, up from $453 million in the second quarter. That was down 43 per cent on a year earlier, but better than Wall Street had been expecting.

The Q3 staff pay and bonus pot - which includes salaries, estimated performance-related payouts and payroll expenses - is broadly flat on the previous three months. It means Goldman's 35,400 staff are in line for an average $370,056 each so far this year.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "This latest round of bonuses make a mockery of the idea that we're all in this together. While millions face losing their jobs or having their public services slashed, those who caused the mess are back to bonuses as usual."

Goldman, considered one of the strongest investment banks, saw trading revenues drop to $6.3bn in the three months to 30 September from $10bn a year earlier.

Meanwhile, figures from Bank of America yesterday showed the group made a loss of $7.3bn in the third quarter, as a result of changes to bank card transaction fees. The company took a one-off charge of $10.4bn as a result of the changes, wiping out what would have been a $3.1bn profit.