The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) board is set for a big shake-up as it tries to emerge from the crisis over its handling of the $187.5 million (€166.4 million) pay package that led to the resignation of its chairman, Mr Richard Grasso.

Mr Henry Paulson, chairman of Goldman Sachs and one of the NYSE directors behind Mr Grasso's forced resignation, is privately urging directors with ties to companies regulated by the NYSE to step down.

Mr Grasso resigned on Wednesday after one of the most traumatic episodes in the NYSE's 211-year history.

Mr Paulson and his counterparts at JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley were among the directors who voted to accept Mr Grasso's resignation at an emergency board meeting.

The vote was carried by 13 votes to seven, indicating deep divisions among directors that could handicap the NYSE's efforts to emerge from the crisis.

Any decision by Wall Street directors to step aside would be made once the existing board has picked an interim head, has made progress in its search for a full-time replacement and has completed a governance review.

Mr Larry Sonsini, a board member and prominent San Francisco lawyer, turned down the job of interim chairman, casting further doubt on the ability of the board to work together.

The NYSE has 12 securities industry representatives on its board. The exchange is the regulator of these firms, leading to charges that the conduct of the exchange and the pay of its chief executive are unduly influenced by those it regulates.

The scale of Mr Grasso's pay and the controversy it generated are widely blamed on the alleged conflicts of interest of board members. If directors with ties to companies regulated by the exchange stepped down, there would be no need to separate the NYSE's regulatory role from its trading role, according to people familiar with Mr Paulson's views.

Mr Grasso's resignation came after three weeks of controversy over his decision to withdraw $139.5 million in deferred pay last month. The NYSE also extended his contract to 2007 and it later emerged he was owed $48 million, which he would not accept.

In addition to Mr Paulson, directors who voted to accept Mr Grasso's resignation included Mr William Harrison, chairman of JP Morgan Chase, and Mr Philip Purcell of Morgan Stanley. Supporters included Mr James Cayne, chairman of Bear Stearns and vice-chairman of the NYSE.