[ by Howard Haykin ]

To the victors go the spoils.  Such is the case for the Chief Executive of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc.  On the heels of an extraordinary 4th quarter and a profitable year, Lloyd Blankfein, 58, was rewarded with a 90% jump in his stock bonus for 2012, to $13.3 million. 

Given Jamie Dimon's 50% disciplinary cut, and Mr. Blankfein's increase, the Goldman Sachs CEO topped his JPMorgan rival in compensation for the 1st time in 5 years.  Mr. Dimon, 56, who leads the biggest U.S. bank by assets, had his compensation cut in half to $11.5 million because of the London Whale trading loss.

It was in 2007 that Mr. Blankfein last topped Mr. Dimon, principally on his $69.7 million bonus - a Wall Street record.  Since then, he has trailed Dimon’s as Goldman's profitability lagged behind that of JPMorgan, which this week reported a3rd consecutive year of record profits.

Computing Blankfein's Total Bonus for 2012.   While Goldman Sachs didn’t disclose Blankfein’s cash bonus, a person familiar with the payout said his total bonus was about 70% restricted stock and 30% cash - similar to last year.  On that basis, his total bonus amounted to about $19 million, including nearly $7 million in cash.

Blankfein got over 94,000 restricted shares worth $13.3 million at the $141.01 closing price on 1/17/13, according to a filing with the SEC. For 2011, Blankfein was awarded $7 million in stock and $3 million in cash.  Mr. Blankfein’s compensation also includes a $2 million salary.

Goldman's Performance in 2012.   Revenue at Goldman Sachs jumped 19% in 2012, the first gain in 3 years - as firm investments almost tripled in value and investment banking fees climbed.  Mr. Blankfein helped boost profits by paring the portion of revenue paid to employees to 38% from 42%.  That invigorated investors, who pushed the stock up 41% in 2012 - Goldman's first annual gain since doubling in 2009.

Other Senior Executives.   Goldman Sachs also disclosed restricted-stock awards for 11 other senior executives in filings today.  Cash bonuses aren’t scheduled to be disclosed until the firm files its proxy statement.

• President Gary Cohn, 52, was awarded 85,136 restricted shares, worth $12 million;  he receives $1.85 million in salary.  for 2011, he got $3 million in cash and $7 million in restricted stock.
• CFO David Viniar, 57, who is retiring this month after 32 years at the firm - and is joining the board of directors - also received restricted shares worth $12 million.  He too got $1.85 million in salary, and for 2011, he received the same bonus as Mr. Blankfein and Mr. Cohn.

James Johnson, former Fannie Mae CEO who is the longest-serving member of Goldman Sachs’s board of directors, chairs the board’s compensation committee. Johnson was re- elected to the board last year over public opposition from shareholder Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc.   [Bloomberg, 1/18/13]