Goldman Sachs scraps bonuses

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the firm that set a record for Wall Street pay last year, became the first U.S. bank to scrap 2008 bonuses for senior officers in the face of the financial crisis.

Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, 54, and six deputies told the New York bank’s compensation committee that they would forgo the year-end awards, according to Lucas van Praag, a company spokesman. Each of the executives receives a salary of $600,000; Blankfein’s bonus last year was almost $70 million.

Wall Street bonuses, typically about two-thirds of total annual compensation, are under scrutiny by lawmakers and taxpayers after the government passed a $700-billion rescue plan for the industry.