CEO: Credit crisis in late stages

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said Thursday that markets are probably in the late stages of the global credit crisis that began last summer.

“We’re closer to the end than the beginning,” Blankfein said at the bank’s annual shareholder meeting. He wouldn’t forecast how long the crisis would persist.

In the meantime, Goldman is cutting deep into its ranks, eliminating posts in mortgage and investment banking as the credit crunch saps demand.

The company declined to quantify the latest round of head-count reductions, which are taking place this month.

Also at the annual meeting, a shareholder proposal to give investors a say in executive compensation won support from 43% of ballots cast after Blankfein and four top executives received a record $305 million in combined pay last year.

The so-called say-on-pay proposal was supported by such investors as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

Goldman shares, down 20% this year, fell $3.59 to $170.55.