Goldman Sachs forces top bankers to give some bonus cash to charity

Goldman Sachs is said to be considering forcing its top bankers to donate part of their bonuses to charity to prevent a public backlash over their compensation packages.

Analysts expect the investment bank to report this week that it has made profits of $11bn (£6.8bn), and will award close-to-record pay and bonuses, just under $20bn.

The bank hopes the charity gesture will reduce the animosity felt towards the bank over its bonus plans, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The charitable programme is likely to be announced during or before Thursday's full-year results.

The move would force partner managing directors and managing directors - a pool of 1,400 of the bank's highest paid employees - to donate a small percentage of their annual earnings to charity.

The mandatory plan under discussion could also have a voluntary element for more junior staff, encouraging all employees to increase their philanthropic giving.

The bank is also expected to significantly scale back the amount of compensation as a percentage of revenue that it pays in the final quarter, to close to 25%, reducing the overall total for the year to between 40% and 41%.

The investment bank also revealed last week that it would contribute more than £600,000 to the Haiti disaster fund.