Feb 3 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc awarded Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein a $7 million restricted stock bonus as part of his 2011 compensation package, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.
The payout is less than the $12.6 million restricted stock award Blankfein received last year. Goldman's earnings declined 67 percent and its stock declined 46 percent during 2011.
Blankfein also received a base salary of $2 million during the year, bringing his total pay to at least $9 million.
Four other top executives including Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar and Vice Chairmen Michael Evans and John Weinberg received the same restricted stock bonus as Blankfein, according to Form 4 filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Altogether, Goldman awarded seven senior executives and nine board members $40.5 million for their work in 2011.
The bonuses came in the form of 356,685 restricted stock units on Wednesday, when the closing price was $113.45. Since then, Goldman shares have risen 3.6 percent to close at $117.53 on Friday.
The restricted stock units will convert into common Goldman shares in three equal installments through 2015, but cannot be sold for five years.