KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 1): Goldman Sachs Group Inc doubled chief executive officer David Solomon’s pay in 2021.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) last Friday (Jan 28) reported that Solomon received a US$35 million pay package for 2021, up from US$17.5 million in 2020, when Goldman cut his pay by US$10 million, following the bank’s admission that it broke US laws in its dealings with an investment fund at the heart of a global corruption ring.

In October 2020, Goldman agreed to pay nearly US$3 billion to government officials in four countries to end an investigation into work it performed for 1Malaysia Development Bhd.

The bank said at the time that it would take a total of US$174 million in compensation from current and former executives.

Citing Goldman’s securities filing, WSJ said Solomon’s 2021 pay package consisted of a US$2 million base salary, a cash bonus of about US$10 million and a US$23.1 million stock award that is tied to how well the bank performs in the next few years.

It said Solomon received a one-time stock award of about US$30 million in October.

The award, the bank said at the time, was designed to keep him atop the firm and a nod to “the rapidly increasing war for talent in the current environment.”

Meanwhile, other banks recently rewarded executives for strong results.

Morgan Stanley awarded CEO James Gorman US$35 million in 2021 compensation, a 6% increase.

JPMorgan Chase & Co paid CEO Jamie Dimon US$34.5 million for his work last year, up from US$31.5 million in 2020.