Be careful on bonus payouts, Goldman told

Goldman Sachs Group Inc must be careful about handing out record bonuses while the banking industry was still under distress to avoid spurring an outcry from Congress, US Senator Mark Warner said.

“I do hope that Goldman Sachs will be a little more sensitive to the optics of their actions,” Warner, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Goldman Sachs, the biggest US securities firm before converting to a bank holding company in September 2008, set aside $11.4 billion for pay in the first six months of this year after reporting record earnings. The company must be mindful of the public mood even though it has repaid US aid and has traditionally tied pay to long-term performance, Warner said.

“They ought to be sensitive to the fact that the whole industry is still under a great deal of scrutiny,” the Virginia Democrat said. “You can end up seeing a reaction on the Hill if there’s not some of that sensitivity,” he added.