Goldman likely to pay annual bonus in stock

Goldman Sachs Chief Lloyd Blankfein is weighing plans to increase the share of compensation paid out in equity to executives in a bid to quell public anger over the probability of large pay-outs, the Financial Times said.

Senior executives, including Blankfein, could be awarded all annual bonus in company stock, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with Goldman's thinking.

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal had reported that the company was meeting with major investors in an effort to head off a possible backlash over its record bonuses.

Goldman officials said the meetings were an effort to explain why the company's pay levels are reasonable in light of its performance and to get feedback from key stakeholders.

The Financial Times said on Friday that Goldman's board, however, seemed hesitant to grant shareholders a non-binding, advisory vote on pay policy as it could lead to investors pushing for a bigger say on other policies.

Goldman Sachs could not be contacted by Reuters outside regular US. business hours to confirm the Financial Times report.