A Goldmine at Sachs, even for the average worker

They call it Goldmine Sachs. And well they might. Because the Wall Street giant has become the first major investment bank to see its average salary top US$500,000. ($739,000)

The average figure per staff member of US$521,000 bursts through a barrier not even breached during the dot-com boom in 1999 and 2000. It is a 12 per cent increase on the US$466,000 average disclosed for 2004.

And it is twice the level of average pay at rivals Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. The figure came to light in the Goldman's latest regulatory filings and comes as a record bonus season draws to a close on both sides of the Atlantic.

Such a large average salary is sure to be used to entice people to join the bank, which expects to boost the number of employees by up to 10 per cent in anticipation of another bumper year for trading and mergers and acquisitions activity.

Last year, Goldman Sachs paid out US$11.7 billion to its 22,425 employees. Hank Paulson, the chairman and chief executive, was paid US$38 million in salary, shares and options - a 21 per cent increase on 2004.

Wall Street banks paid a record US$21.5 billion in bonuses last year - topping the previous record of US$19.5 billion in 2000.

- INDEPENDENT