executive compensation

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Wall St. Looks to Skirt Bonus Limits With Padded Salaries

Attempt to skirt new rules could anger shareholders

(Newser) - In a move to skirt government restrictions on executive pay for recipients of bailout cash, some Wall Street companies are discussing raising base salaries, the Journal reports. Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are considering the idea, which is gaining currency as regulators keep a watchful eye on bonuses, say industry insiders....

AIG Uproar Squanders Obama Capital
 AIG Uproar 
 Squanders 
 Obama Capital 
ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2009 4:47 AM CDT

AIG Uproar Squanders Obama Capital

Anger over AIG creates more obstacles for president's agenda

(Newser) - Mounting outrage over the bonuses paid to AIG execs is threatening to bring Barack Obama's presidential honeymoon to a bitter end, the Washington Post reports. Lawmakers from both parties are demanding answers the administration is struggling to provide, and the uproar is threatening to sap both public and congressional support...

AIG Execs Should Quit or Commit Suicide: GOP Senator

Grassley urges bosses to follow 'Japanese model' and fall on their swords

(Newser) - AIG's bigwigs should follow the "Japanese example" for shamed executives and fall on their swords, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley believes. The Republican lawmaker told a local radio program that  the bosses responsible for running the business into the ground should bow before the American people and apologize, reports ABC....

Cuomo Wants to Link Wall St. Pay to Performance

'Heads I win, tails I break even' must stop

(Newser) - New York’s attorney general is teaming with Washington lawmakers to develop a plan to link Wall Street pay to long-term company performance, the Wall Street Journal reports. Details are skimpy, but Andrew Cuomo is looking into spreading cash and stock payments over several years so that if firms do...

Paparazzi Switch Focus from Britney to Bankers

Public outrage spurs media to cover corporate excess

(Newser) - Tabloids and TV shows best known for hounding Hollywood stars are turning their cameras to bankers and captains of industry, the New York Times reports. Paparazzi now track corporate jets and snoop on lavish parties held by execs at bailed-out banks, tapping into a deep vein of public anger at...

Cuomo: Merrill Misled Congress on Bonuses

Bank decided on bonuses earlier than claimed, he says

(Newser) - Andrew Cuomo is turning the screws a little tighter in his investigation of bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives. In a court filing today, the New York attorney general accused the bank of "misleading" Congress about when it decided to dole out $3.6 billion, the Wall Street Journal...

Citigroup Paid Employees $13M for Scrapped Resort Trip

Bahamas trip for top performers was nixed after spotlight put on bank's spending

(Newser) - Citigroup employees whose jaunts to the Bahamas were canceled amid scrutiny of the bailed-out bank's spending were paid $13 million in compensation for the scrapped getaway, insiders tell Bloomberg. Sales agents—all 1900 of them—who had been scheduled to stay at a swanky resort were paid $5,000 each,...

Firms Reprice Employees' Worthless Stock Options

Repricing plans toss lifeline to 'underwater' stock option holders

(Newser) - Major firms are trying to boost morale by giving workers another chance to profit on stock options made worthless by the stock market dive, the Washington Post reports. Many employees—especially execs—are currently stuck with "underwater" options with a strike price above the trading price. Close to...

Trader's $400M Loss Behind Merrill's London 'Irregularity'

(Newser) - A rogue Merrill Lynch trader appears to have posted some $400 million in undisclosed losses in recent months, the Financial Times reports, covering his tracks with the “irregularity” the firm’s London branch is currently investigating. Alexis Stenfors, now suspended, reported $120 million in gains in 2008’s fourth...

Battered Merrill's Top 10 Pocketed $209M

Compensation for top execs higher than in '07, despite firm's massive losses

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch's top 10 earners raked in more than $200 million last year as their company lost $27.6 billion, a Wall Street Journal investigation finds. Eleven execs were each paid at least $10 million in cash and shares, which have now dived in value. A further 149 execs made...

Cuomo Orders BofA to Name Bonus Takers

Subpoena issued after CEO's grilleing by Merrill bonus probe

(Newser) - Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis has been ordered to hand over a full list of Merrill Lynch execs who received bonuses just before the bank took over the company, reports Reuters. Lewis was grilled for hours yesterday in the offices of New York AG Andrew Cuomo, who's looking into...

Limits on Exec Bonuses May Backfire
Limits on Exec Bonuses May Backfire
Feb 15, 2009 11:53 AM CST

Limits on Exec Bonuses May Backfire

Stimulus cuts are too strict, will actually hurt economy, say experts

(Newser) - An 11th-hour limit on Wall Street bonuses in the stimulus bill could ultimately hurt the economy, experts say. In a surprise move, they curb not only senior executives’ pay but also traders, investment bankers, and others, the Los Angeles Times reports. “This will make it difficult to attract and...

Stimulus Slashes Bank Bonuses

Package bans cash bonuses for bailed-out firms' high earners

(Newser) - A late addition to the stimulus package puts tougher restrictions on executive pay at bailed-out financial institutions, reports the Wall Street Journal. The rules go further than the Obama administration proposed, affect more employees, and could seriously crimp the culture of gargantuan bonuses. The big one: Bonuses can't exceed one-third...

Bank Execs to Congress: We Are Lending

CEOs defend compensation, call for new regulation

(Newser) - “We’re lending,” bank executives told Congress this morning, as CEOs including Jamie Dimon, Ken Lewis, and Vikram Pandit testified before the House Financial Services Committee. They also defended the outrage-inducing (but, they stressed, much reduced) bonuses they handed out, according to their prepared testimony. “Our employees...

Geithner Wins Tug-of-War for Hands-Off Bailout

Treasury secretary resists calls for firmer government intervention

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has prevailed over top administration officials who sought tougher restrictions on financial institutions in the revamped bailout plan to be unveiled today, reports the New York Times. Geithner, pointing to failures in countries that adopted more interventionist measures, successfully resisted calls to dictate how the cash...

Banks Will Find Ways Around Obama's Pay Cap
Banks Will Find Ways
Around Obama's Pay Cap
Analysis
Feb 7, 2009 12:57 PM CST

Banks Will Find Ways Around Obama's Pay Cap

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s attempt to curb executive pay may please the outraged investing public, but banks will find the loopholes—and possibly create even more vexing problems in the future, writes Jason Zweig of the Wall Street Journal. To begin with, the rule won’t dent the pay of traders,...

Skirting Pay Cap Will Be a Piece of Cake

Obama proposal leaves wiggle room, and Wall St. usually good at finding it

(Newser) - The squeeze on big paydays for executives of bailed-out banks will probably leave Wall Street plenty of wiggle room. Consultants on executive pay say the caps imposed by President Obama yesterday will probably apply only to a few executives—not star traders, brokers, and salespeople who routinely earn whopping pay...

C'mon, Mr Prez, Nobody Will Run Bank for $500K
C'mon, Mr Prez, Nobody Will Run Bank for $500K
OPINION
Feb 4, 2009 12:34 PM CST

C'mon, Mr Prez, Nobody Will Run Bank for $500K

Obama, after pledge to be above the noise, falls prey to it instead

(Newser) - Sure, bankers make too much money, but President Obama’s ceiling “is just a misguided attempt to quiet the peanut gallery,” writes Megan Barnett in Portfolio. The $500,000-per-year executive cap will discourage banks from taking needed government cash, and drive away top talent. “Money is what...

Populist Outrage Makes Perfect Sense

Pay system at the heart of this whole mess

(Newser) - All it takes is $18.4 billion, and suddenly the mob is restless. Once, we were content to brush Wall Street’s gross inequities under the rug, but “we’re populists of a more fiery sort now,” writes Thomas Frank in the Wall Street Journal, “the old...

Obama Puts $500K Limit on Exec Pay at Bailout Firms

(Newser) - Executives at companies that get “exceptional help” from the federal government are in for a big pay cut, President Obama announced today. Top-level executives will have salaries capped at $500,000, Obama said, “a fraction of the salaries that have been reported recently.” The only other compensation...

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