Goldman Sachs is making major changes to its compensation structure worldwide.

The firm’s entire 30-person management committee will receive 100 per cent of their discretionary compensation in the form of shares at risk, which cannot be sold for five years, in addition to other restrictions. This element represents the vast majority of senior management's compensation and is directly tied to the firm's overall performance.

The five-year holding period includes an enhanced recapture provision that will let the firm seize back the shares if the employee engaged in materially improper risk analysis or failed sufficiently to raise concerns about risks.

Shareholders will get a vote on the firm’s compensation principles and the compensation of its named executive officers at the firm’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders in 2010, but it will be purely advisory.

Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive officer, said: “We believe our compensation policies are the strongest in our industry and ensure that compensation accurately reflects the firm's performance and incentivises behaviour that is in the public’s and our shareholders’ best interests.”

The move comes as the “bonus culture” of banks is under attack both in the media globally and, in the UK, more specifically, by a one-off tax. It is not clear whether the new structures will avoid these penal fiscal measures.