By Stephen Bernard

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top executives will not receive cash bonuses this year, as the Wall Street giant bows to sharp criticism over its pay practices.
The 30 high-ranking executives will instead receive stock that cannot be sold for at least five years, the New York-based bank said Thursday.

But the restrictions won’t affect the more than 31,000 other employees at the bank, potentially including some of its top traders who could be rewarded handsomely for helping Goldman turn big profits this year.

Banking bonuses have been a hot-button political issue. Financial markets have recovered much faster than the broader economy, and the nation’s unemployment rate sits at 10 percent. Surging financial markets allowed companies like Goldman Sachs to rebound and start posting big quarterly profits, while setting aside billions of dollars to pay out year-end bonuses.

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