Goldman Sachs just left a lot of its bankers out in the cold.
The Wall Street firm named 280 new managing directors Wednesday, just a 5 percent increase from the previous year, when 266 were picked for promotion.
Hundreds of mid-level bankers who missed the cut will now have to wait another two years until 2015 because this is the last annual set of managing director promotions.
The change to biennial promotions comes as Goldman has been paring its staff and partnership ranks in the aftermath of the financial crisis that pushed even the storied franchise to the brink.
While Goldman was expected to promote more employees than in years past to help compensate for the beginning of its biennial process, this year’s crop of newly minted MDs is a far cry from double.
Those who got the promotion — one step below the elite partnership ranks — will command millions more than their midlevel colleagues over the next few years.
“We wish our new managing directors continued success and thank them for their dedication and hard work representing the firm and our clients,” said Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said in a statement.