Goldman Sachs' 100 UK-based partners are capping their 2009 pay and bonuses at £1m each, which industry insiders say represents a significant sacrifice of several hundred million pounds. One Goldman executive claims they wanted to be seen to be exercising the restraint which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has sought from all bankers, though many executives working in Britain ranked below partner-level will earn much more than £1m each. Goldman Sachs says it did not feel it could insist they take a pay cut, because that might have damaged its ability to recruit and retain more able bankers.

In 2008, the bank paid out $4.82 billion in bonuses, awarding 953 employees at least $1 million each and 78 executives $5 million or more, according to The New York Times. The firm's bonus pool for 2009 had stood around $16.7 billion for compensation, which Goldman's CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, (PICTURED) defended, telling Fortune magazine last October: "Our business correlates with growth from wherever we are in the cycle," Mr. Blankfein said. "Once the economy starts to turn, we get very involved."