Thousands of bankers at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers will celebrate record bonus payments today, despite the global credit crunch.

Lehman kicked off the good cheer as it emerged that it had handed Richard Fuld, 61, its chief executive, a $41 million (£17 million) share award.

Goldman began to tell staff on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday of their share of what is expected to be an $18.8 billion pool – $2.3 billion more than last year’s annual awards. The payouts average $600,000 for each of its near30,000 staff worldwide.

Heads of investment banking at Goldman are each thought to have been awarded cash and share payments worth up to $10 million, level with last year’s bonus. Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and chief executive of Goldman, is thought to be on course for a 30 per cent rise in his pay package, to about $70 million. Hundreds of high-performing dealmakers in their twenties – those with vice-president ranking and about five years’ experience – collected cash payments of $500,000 each, according to sources.

Lehman’s 28,200 staff will learn details today. The bank will also reveal what is expected to be a record year of earnings, despite write-offs of more than $2 billion to its loan book, sources predict. Morgan Stanley staff will learn of their awards tomorrow.

Lehman awarded Mr Fuld $35 million of restricted stock, which vests over the next three to five years and is worth about 4 per cent more than last year’s award. He received $6 million of performance-based restricted stock as well.

Five other executives received a total of $58 million in stock for 2007, including $29 million for Joe Gregory, the bank’s president, and $9 million for Thomas Russo, the vice-chairman, according to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The total pot of bonus awards for Lehman’s staff this year is expected to be about $9.4 billion – on average $335,000 per employee.

The average is likely to be slightly down at both Goldman and Lehman, but that will reflect a cut in awards to workers in the credit divisions that should allow for greater handouts to corporate financiers, equity traders and wealth managers.

The credit crunch has forced Lehman to shed about 1,000 staff since September, including about 100 from its European headquarters in Canary Wharf, where job losses were in the credit division only. Most of Lehman’s staff, who collectively own 30 per cent of the bank, will take home about two thirds of their bonus payments in cash and the rest in shares, sources said.

Goldman’s write-offs relating to the credit crisis – it took a $1.7 billion hit in the third quarter – have so far been less severe than at its Wall Street rivals Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and UBS. Bankers in those firms are likely to receive between 50 per cent and 75 per cent of their bonuses in shares, assuming that they receive a bonus. Many simply hope to keep their jobs.

UBS, which is cutting 1,600 investment banking jobs worldwide, is thought to have capped cash payouts at $700,000 this year, while some mid-level bankers will get all their bonus in shares.

CIBC, the Canadian bank, is axing 60 staff from its City office and closing its leveraged finance operation. Dresdner Kleinwort, the German investment bank, is set to lay off more than 200, but the total might rise to 350.

Emma Halls, of Finance Professionals, a recruiter, said: “People in wealth management, equities and corporate finance were worried their bonuses would go to pay top people in credit. Across the banks there will, however, be a lot of pay in stock and options.”

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