By Olivia Oran
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein saw his overall compensation fall slightly, reflecting lower revenues at the bank in the first half of 2016.
Blankfein's overall pay declined 4 percent to $22 million, according to a regulatory filing.
Goldman changed Blankfein's compensation structure by tying all of his equity awards to performance. It also eliminated a long-term incentive award.
The bank revamped the pay structure after some shareholders raised concerns that it was overly complex.
Blankfein and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) CEO Mike Corbat were the only major bank CEOs whose pay was cut. Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan's compensation surged 25 percent to $20 million, his biggest payday since taking the helm of the bank in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CEO James Gorman saw more modest raises of 4 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
Goldman shares rose 34 percent last year, thanks largely to a broad rally in U.S. bank stocks following the Nov. 8 election. Investors are betting that higher interest rates, as well as lighter regulation, lower taxes and faster economic growth promised by Trump will boost profits for lenders.
The bank reported a 9 percent decline in net revenues for 2016, as a strong second half of the year in which events like Brexit and the U.S. presidential election spurred trading could not make up for a dismal first quarter across Wall Street.
Goldman's return on equity (ROE), a measure that shows how well a bank uses shareholder money to generate profit, was 9.4 percent for 2016. That was below the 10 percent analysts believe is needed to cover a bank's cost of capital, but above U.S. peers which generated on average a 7.9 percent ROE in 2016.
Goldman changed its performance-based awards for executives to reflect the bank's ROE relative to peers.
Goldman Chief Financial Officer Harvey Schwartz received total compensation of $20 million in 2016, a decline of 5 percent from the year prior.