Goldman Sachs is planning to allow its former partners to sell about $800m (€856m) of Goldman stock each quarter in addition to the sales being made under the current $4.1bn secondary offering.

The new scheme, which is disclosed in the prospectus for Goldman's forthcoming secondary share sale, is likely to fuel the debate over the sale of shares ahead of the three-year lock-up, which the partners agreed when Goldman went public last year. The new programme, under SEC Rule 144, may result in more than 1.5% of Goldman's shares coming on to the market every three months. It could put additional pressure on the company's share price by providing a steady supply of Goldman shares into the market.