Top executives at Goldman Sachs will receive no bonus for 2008 after the Wall Street group’s seven most senior bankers waived their right to a payout, according to the Financial Times.

The move, which is likely to put pressure on other banks to follow suit, comes after a turbulent year in which Goldman converted itself into a commercial bank and received a $10 billion capital injection from the US government. It also follows intense scrutiny of Wall Street bonuses from legislators and regulators.

WealthBriefing was unable to immediately confirm the FT story.

Goldman’s compensation committee yesterday approved the request from executives including Lloyd Blankfein, the bank’s chairman and chief executive, not to pay bonuses for 2008.

Other executives giving up their payouts include Jon Winkelreid and Gary Cohn, Goldman’s co-presidents; chief financial officer David Viniar, and Michael Evans, Michael Sherwood and John Weinberg, who are all vice-chairmen of the bank.

“Our senior executive officers made this decision because they believe it is the right thing to do. We cannot ignore the fact that we are part of an industry that is directly associated with the ongoing economic problems,” a Goldman spokesman was quoted by the FT as saying.

Fuelled by its enormous profits, Goldman has in recent years topped the league tables for executive bonuses. Last year, which was a record year for Goldman, Mr Blankfein was paid $68.5 million in cash and stock, while Mr Cohn and Mr Winkelreid were each paid $67.5 million. Mr Viniar received $57.5 million. Goldman does not disclose the pay of Mr Evans, Mr Sherwood and Mr Weinberg.

The decision comes as Wall Street banks are firmly in the spotlight as bonus season approaches. Though the terms of the federal bailout do not prevent banks from paying executive bonuses, the nine largest US banks, which shared a $150 billion capital injection, have come under pressure to promise that they will not use federal cash to fund bonus payments.