Goldman Sachs CEO Solomon pays price of 1MDB scandal

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon’s annual pay fell by $10 million, or 36%, in 2020, according to regulatory disclosures filed Tuesday, reflecting the bank’s role in Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal.

Solomon will receive $17.5 million for his work during the year, compared with $27.5 million the year before, the bank said.

Goldman previously announced it would reduce Solomon’s pay, along with that of Chief Financial Officer Stephen Scherr and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron, in light of the findings of investigations into the bank’s role in the affair.

The scandal dates to the government of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, which set up the 1MDB fund in 2009.

Between 2009 and 2014, Goldman bankers paid more than $1.6 billion in bribes to foreign officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to win 1MDB business, including underwriting $6.5 billion in bond sales, for which it earned $600 million in fees, the bank has said.

Waldron will receive $18.5 million for his work last year, down 24%, or $6 million, from 2019.

Scherr will be paid $15.5 million, down 31%, or $7 million, from the previous year.

Were it not for the 1MDB scandal, Solomon and Scherr’s pay would have been unchanged from the previous year, the bank said, and Waldron’s pay would have risen by $1 million.

Rival Morgan Stanley’s Chief Executive James Gorman saw his annual pay rise by $6 million, or 22%, last year, according to a regulatory filing released on Friday.

Goldman said in October it is clawing back $174 million from a dozen current and former executives, including Solomon and his predecessor, Lloyd Blankfein. The bank agreed to pay $2.9 billion to settle probes into its role in the 1MDB corruption scandal.

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