US investment giant Goldman Sachs has said it will pay bonuses to top executives in shares instead of cash this year.
The firm's 30-member management committee will receive bonuses in the form of shares that cannot be sold for five years and which can be recovered under a 'clawback' provision.
The provision covers cases 'where the employee engaged in materially improper risk analysis or failed sufficiently to raise concerns about risks,' said the powerful Wall Street firm.
Goldman Sachs said the move was aimed at ensuring that its employees were accountable for the future impact of their decisions, and making clear that its pay practices 'do not reward taking excessive risk'.
Goldman Sachs said the policy change was approved by its board of directors, and would be submitted to shareholders for an advisory vote in 2010.
The action comes amid a public outcry in the US and elsewhere over bonuses and perks for executives at banks, viewed by many as responsible for the global financial crisis.
Goldman, among the most successful financial firms throughout the crisis, has been a flashpoint for criticism even though it has repaid a US government capital injection.
