Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach, vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs International and a former adviser to Lady Thatcher when in power, said he was "not ashamed" of the bank's compensation plans. He also said the issue of banking compensation should not be thought about solely from a short-term perspective.

The comments, made during a public debate on ethics and the economics crisis at St Paul's Cathedral, are likely to further deepen the debate about bank bonuses in the light of government support and the financial crisis.

Although Goldman did not receive any support from UK taxpayers, it did receive a $10bn capital injection from the US Treasury in October 2008 as part of then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's attempt to prop up the major American banks.

As he defended the bank's lavish bonuses, Lord Griffiths said the general public should "tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity for all", saying also that "we should not ... be ashamed of offering compensation in an internationally competitive market which ensures the bank businesses here and employs British people".

 

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/6392127/Goldman-Sachs-vice-chairman-says-Learn-to-tolerate-inequality.html# #