The decision was made by the seven executives themselves, said spokesman Lucas Van Praag, and approved Sunday by the Wall Street firm's compensation committee. The executives made the decision "because they think it's the right thing to do," Van Praag said.
The seven executives include Blankfein; Presidents and Co-Chief Operating Officers Jon Winkelried and Gary Cohn; Vice Chairmen John Weinberg, J. Michael Evans and Michael Sherwood; and Chief Financial Officer David Viniar.
They will receive no cash bonuses, no stock, and no options for 2008 — just their salaries, the spokesman said. Companies typically release compensation figures for top executives in the spring as part of their annual proxy statements.
Meanwhile Swiss bank UBS axed bonuses for top executives on Monday and said it would introduce a more transparent pay system in the most far-reaching changes on pay at a top European lender during the credit crisis.
UBS, which is struggling in the subprime crisis and whose shares slumped to a new all-time low on Monday, said Chairman Peter Kurer, Chief Executive Marcel Rohner and other executive board members would not get any bonuses this year.
Starting from 2009, top managers' bonuses will be blocked for at least three years instead of being paid immediately and executives will receive variable pay if UBS results warrant.
Under the new system, the chairman will only be awarded a fixed salary.
Kurer's fixed-pay salary for this year was 2 million Swiss francs ($1.68 million), he said on Monday.
"UBS is fully committed to taking its responsibilities seriously and correcting previous errors," the bank said.