Goldman Sachs bankers on course for $19 Billion in pay and bonuses for 2009

Goldman has enjoyed a bumper year thanks to booming debt markets, a recovery in the oil price and a rise in the value of equities since January, with some indices up by 20%. The bank trades off its own account as well as on behalf of clients.

Goldman's three leading executives, chairman Lloyd Blankfein, president Gary Cohn and chief financial officer David Viniar, will receive multi-million dollar payouts after forgoing their bonuses last year when the bank made a loss in the fourth quarter. Average compensation for the rest of the workforce will come in at about $743,000. The bonus culture is under attack on both sides of the Atlantic as it is blamed for having encouraged bankers to make reckless decisions during the credit boom that contributed to the near collapse of the financial system in 2008.

CEO Loyd Blankfein's annual salary is approximately $600,000.00. Last year, he returned his annual bonus of $68 million in an effort to shirk criticism after accepting, on behalf of Goldman Sachs, $10 billion from U.S. tax payers and firing 3200 employees (10%).

What are the odds he will give up his windfall bonus this year? Zero.