By . James Salmon . PUBLISHED: . 19:03 EST, 16 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:42 EST, 17 January 2013 . 'Insensitive': The investment bank has come under fire over its huge pay awards . Goldman Sachs was accused of a ‘lack of sensitivity’ last night after handing out average pay and perks of £250,000 – a rise of 5 per cent. A pot of £8.1billion will be shared among its 32,400 staff – including 6,000 in Britain – after profits soared 70 per cent to £4.7billion last year.The huge award, which would take the average worker in the UK almost 10 years to earn, comes despite growing calls from campaigners and politicians for banks to show more restraint on pay. Critics said the ‘spirit of Gordon Gekko is alive and well’ at the bank, referring to the notorious trader portrayed by Michael Douglas in 1980s film Wall Street who infamously boasted that ‘greed is good’.News of the rise comes after Goldman was forced into a humiliating climb down this week over plans to delay paying its bonuses until after April 6, when the top rate of tax is cut from 50p  to 45p. The U-turn came after Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King branded the idea ‘depressing’, accusing the bank of ‘lacking care and attention’ to the rest of society. The world’s most powerful investment bank, which earned the nickname ‘Golden Sacks’ over its sky-high pay and perks, reaped the rewards as its profits soared 70 per cent to £4.7billion last year. 'The spirit of Gordon Gekko is alive and well at Goldman Sachs' David Hillman, Robin Hood Tax campaign . David Hillman, spokesman for the Robin Hood Tax campaign, said: ‘The spirit of Gordon Gekko is alive and well at Goldman Sachs - their bankers’ earnings have increased close to an eye-watering ten times the average UK salary. With pay like that who needs tax dodges?’ He added: ‘While the rest of us live through an age of austerity brought on by banks’ reckless behaviour, they carry on regardless racking up profits and lining their pockets.’ Goldman has managed to emerge from 2012 relatively untainted by the scandals which have beset its rivals. These include huge fines for HSBC and Standard Chartered for money laundering, as well as penalties for Barclays and Swiss bank UBS for rigging interest rates. But it hit the headlines last March when a former senior trader published an open resignation letter criticising the bank’s ‘toxic’ culture and accused senior executives at the bank of calling clients ‘muppets’ behind their backs. U-turn: Bank of England chief Mervyn King called Goldman Sachs' plan to delay paying out bonuses until the top rate of tax was cut 'depressing' Goldman defended its pay awards, stressing that its has slashed the share of revenues paid in salary and benefits to 37.9 per cent in 2012, from 42.4 per cent the previous year. Deborah Hargreaves, chair of the High Pay Centre, said: ‘Goldman should be applauded for abandoning plans to delay paying bonuses to cut their tax rate. 'But I’m afraid these huge pay-outs demonstrate greed and lack of sensitivity for the rest of the population further down the income chain which is struggling to make ends meet. 'Spirit of Gordon Gekko': Michael Douglas as Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street . 'I fear this is a sign of things to come with the rest of the banks.’ British banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds, announce their bonuses in the next few weeks. Trade unions hit out at the sky high pay at Goldman Sachs. Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said: ‘The billions wasted on undeserved bonuses could be far better spent on what banks are supposed to do – supporting real business growth. The government should force banks to get back to serving the wider economy, rather than simply serving themselves lavish rewards.’News of the bumper awards at Goldman came as Wall Street rival JP Morgan Chase announced its investment bankers will receive average pay packages of £136,000, despite receiving a 3 per cent pay cut. A total pot of £7.1billion was shared among 52,151 employees, around 15,000 of them based in London. The generous awards come despite a shock £3.8billion trading loss incurred by a London-based trader nicknamed the ‘London Whale’ due to the size of his bets on the stockmarket.The bank’s chief executive Jamie Dimon has seen his bonus for last year slashed in half, but will still pocket £6.3 million plus a salary of £940,000.JP Morgan announced record profits of £13.3 billion for last year.
An £8.1billion pot will be shared among the investment bank's 32,400 staff after profits rocketed by 70 per cent to £4.7billion last year .
Critics said the pay-outs demonstrated 'greed' and a lack of sensitivity towards Britain's struggling households .
By . James Salmon . PUBLISHED: . 19:03 EST, 16 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:42 EST, 17 January 2013 . 'Insensitive': The investment bank has come under fire over its huge pay awards . Goldman Sachs was accused of a ‘lack of sensitivity’ last night after handing out average pay and perks of £250,000 – a rise of 5 per cent. A pot of £8.1billion will be shared among its 32,400 staff – including 6,000 in Britain – after profits soared 70 per cent to £4.7billion last year.The huge award, which would take the average worker in the UK almost 10 years to earn, comes despite growing calls from campaigners and politicians for banks to show more restraint on pay. Critics said the ‘spirit of Gordon Gekko is alive and well’ at the bank, referring to the notorious trader portrayed by Michael Douglas in 1980s film Wall Street who infamously boasted that ‘greed is good’.News of the rise comes after Goldman was forced into a humiliating climb down this week over plans to delay paying its bonuses until after April 6, when the top rate of tax is cut from 50p  to 45p. The U-turn came after Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King branded the idea ‘depressing’, accusing the bank of ‘lacking care and attention’ to the rest of society. The world’s most powerful investment bank, which earned the nickname ‘Golden Sacks’ over its sky-high pay and perks, reaped the rewards as its profits soared 70 per cent to £4.7billion last year. 'The spirit of Gordon Gekko is alive and well at Goldman Sachs' David Hillman, Robin Hood Tax campaign . David Hillman, spokesman for the Robin Hood Tax campaign, said: ‘The spirit of Gordon Gekko is alive and well at Goldman Sachs - their bankers’ earnings have increased close to an eye-watering ten times the average UK salary. With pay like that who needs tax dodges?’ He added: ‘While the rest of us live through an age of austerity brought on by banks’ reckless behaviour, they carry on regardless racking up profits and lining their pockets.’ Goldman has managed to emerge from 2012 relatively untainted by the scandals which have beset its rivals. These include huge fines for HSBC and Standard Chartered for money laundering, as well as penalties for Barclays and Swiss bank UBS for rigging interest rates. But it hit the headlines last March when a former senior trader published an open resignation letter criticising the bank’s ‘toxic’ culture and accused senior executives at the bank of calling clients ‘muppets’ behind their backs. U-turn: Bank of England chief Mervyn King called Goldman Sachs' plan to delay paying out bonuses until the top rate of tax was cut 'depressing' Goldman defended its pay awards, stressing that its has slashed the share of revenues paid in salary and benefits to 37.9 per cent in 2012, from 42.4 per cent the previous year. Deborah Hargreaves, chair of the High Pay Centre, said: ‘Goldman should be applauded for abandoning plans to delay paying bonuses to cut their tax rate. 'But I’m afraid these huge pay-outs demonstrate greed and lack of sensitivity for the rest of the population further down the income chain which is struggling to make ends meet. 'Spirit of Gordon Gekko': Michael Douglas as Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street . 'I fear this is a sign of things to come with the rest of the banks.’ British banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds, announce their bonuses in the next few weeks. Trade unions hit out at the sky high pay at Goldman Sachs. Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said: ‘The billions wasted on undeserved bonuses could be far better spent on what banks are supposed to do – supporting real business growth. The government should force banks to get back to serving the wider economy, rather than simply serving themselves lavish rewards.’News of the bumper awards at Goldman came as Wall Street rival JP Morgan Chase announced its investment bankers will receive average pay packages of £136,000, despite receiving a 3 per cent pay cut. A total pot of £7.1billion was shared among 52,151 employees, around 15,000 of them based in London. The generous awards come despite a shock £3.8billion trading loss incurred by a London-based trader nicknamed the ‘London Whale’ due to the size of his bets on the stockmarket.The bank’s chief executive Jamie Dimon has seen his bonus for last year slashed in half, but will still pocket £6.3 million plus a salary of £940,000.JP Morgan announced record profits of £13.3 billion for last year.
A pot of £8.1billion will be shared among its 32,400 staff – including 6,000 in Britain – after profits soared 70 per cent to £4.7billion last pay. Critics said the ‘spirit of Gordon Gekko is pay-outs demonstrate greed and lack of last year.