Goldman is typically the biggest payer of any leading US bank, with a policy of distributing more than 40 per cent of its revenue to employees, and it has faced furious protests over an anticipated handout of $23 billion this year, an average of more than $700,000 per employee.

The bank has announced its senior staff would receive shares vesting over a five-year period instead of cash bonuses. Under enhanced “clawback” powers, it will be able to reclaim shares from any employees found to have inflicted “material financial harm” on its businesses. In an unprecedented move for a major US bank, Goldman will put its remuneration policies before a yearly “say on pay” vote by shareholders at its annual meetings.

A Goldman spokesman said the bank had considerd public opinion: “The motivation was that these are extraordinary times, that the firm has done well and that excited a great deal of comment and not a little criticism.”

Before the financial crisis hit, Goldman’s chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, was the best-paid bank boss on Wall Street, taking home $68.5 million in 2007 while two of his top lieutenants earned $67.5 million each.