Headline June 5th, 2012 / "The Booty"

"The Booty"

What were the restrictions on executive compensation and bonuses demanded of the TARP recipients by Henry M Paulson Jr? Interestingly, A paltry few!! The bigger the TARP infusion, the more galling the lack of bonus restrictions. Take the Citigroup, so sodden with toxic securities that the Treasury's first 25 billion in TARP funds had to be followed in less than a month with another 15 billion, as well as a separate guarantee of 5billion: 45billion in all! In the meantime Merril like Citi and A.I.G had declined to fire its C.E.O for cause. Vikram S Pandit in his one year as the head of Citi chalked up more write downs -more than 30billion- and a net loss of 18.72 billion for 2008. Surely weighing on the issue of a bonus for Pandit after this performance were the terms of his triumphal arrival. Haha! And no one at Citi had forgotten the terms of that arrival. But the resident wise man at Citi, Robert Rubin, let it be known that he would forgo his 14million bonus for the second year in a row. Still, it was a piddling gesture. Rubin had pocketed an annual compensation package totalling 14million or more from 2000 to 06. One of the Wall Street's highest paid Directors. Finally, on Dec 31, Pandit coughed up the bilious words no bonus

for him or Chairman, 40 percent less for other top officers and a drastically reduced bonus pool for everyone else. But the truth is that no one can actually see how to separate the 45billion bailout the Citigroup got from one trader's 125million bonus. So, in no time truth and mystery merged. at the peak of the crises Hugh Son of Bloomberg News broke the astounding story. Despite the fact that A.I.G which was on the respirator was dispensing public money of the taxpayers of America. The same ones who were losing their jobs and homes and damned sure didn't have a bonus for Christmas. Here then is the bottom line on Wall Street bonuses, for 2008, according to New York State Comptroller's Office. They stayed on track to be 50/cent lower than 07. That's a sharp cut, except that it's still 16billion. Taxpayers may see that money as theirs. Bankers and Traders see it as pay for work done. ''There's no sympathy for us anywhere,'' says one trader. Just true! So readers don't miss the next post. Good night & God bless!

SAM Daily Times - The Voice Of The Voiceless

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