Goldman Sachs names 425 managing directors in new class

By Olivia Oran

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said it named 425 managing directors on Thursday, the firm's second-highest title behind partner.

The bank, which names managing directors every two years, appointed 96 to its banking division and 103 to its securities division, which includes sales and trading, according to a person familiar with the appointments.

A quarter of new managing directors are women, the highest percentage ever for the bank, Goldman Sachs said in a statement.

Goldman's new managing directors will be promoted as of Jan. 1.

Goldman named 280 managing directors in 2013, after which it decided to conduct the promotions every two years.

Goldman said it had set aside 15 percent less money for compensation in the first nine months of the year, compared with the same period in 2014. The bank set aside $287,778 per employee during that period.

New Goldman managing directors will receive a pay raise but aren't paid out of the lucrative bonus pool designed for partners.

Bonuses in the financial services industry could fall more than 10 percent this year, with bond traders being hit the hardest, according to a recent report from compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates.

The weaker trading environment is hurting banks, as are the costs of complying with new regulations intended to reduce risk.

Goldman Sachs Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn said last week during a conference hosted by the New York Times' DealBook that the bank has had "absolutely no problem attracting talent" despite hiring competition from Silicon Valley and other corners of Wall Street like private equity.

(Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; Editing by Alan Crosby)