breaking financial news...
Mar. 17th, 2009 09:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lagilmanWASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Treasury Department will order failed insurance giant American International Group Inc. to repay the taxpayers up to $165 million that the company American International Group Inc (AIG) is giving employees as bonuses, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Tuesday. In a letter to congressional leaders, Geithner said the government can't block the payments, which are being made under contracts signed before the government stepped in with $173 billion to prevent AIG from going bankrupt. Acknowledging "considerable outrage" about the bonus payments, Geithner said AIG will pay the Treasury an amount equal to the payments, and the Treasury will deduct that amount from the $30 billion in government assistance that will soon go to the company.
http://marketwatch.com/r.asp?g=146E125FE23A4409A90E74D4ED156FB3&d=bnbt
Me, I think any of these executives who ran the company into the ground and are now arguing for/accepting the bonus should first be tarred and feathered. But this will do to start, assuming they actually follow through and repay it.
EtA: new update:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group Chief Executive Edward Liddy said Wednesday that he's asked some employees of the insurer's derivatives unit to return half of the bonuses they received recently. Those who received bonuses of $100,000 or more have been asked to return at least half of those payments, Liddy explained. Some staff have already offered to return all the money, he added.
(emphasis mine)
Considering that these are reportedly performance bonuses, I htink that's well within reason, since the company's performance has not been what you'd call reward-worthy...
[and yes, I do realize that this is a mere drop in the bucket. But if everyone actually took care of their own drops, the well might refill a bit faster, and with less thirst among the hapless taxpayers who got dragged into this after the fact. Now, have I tortured that metaphor enough?]
http://marketwatch.com/r.asp?g=146E125FE23A4409A90E74D4ED156FB3&d=bnbt
Me, I think any of these executives who ran the company into the ground and are now arguing for/accepting the bonus should first be tarred and feathered. But this will do to start, assuming they actually follow through and repay it.
EtA: new update:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group Chief Executive Edward Liddy said Wednesday that he's asked some employees of the insurer's derivatives unit to return half of the bonuses they received recently. Those who received bonuses of $100,000 or more have been asked to return at least half of those payments, Liddy explained. Some staff have already offered to return all the money, he added.
(emphasis mine)
Considering that these are reportedly performance bonuses, I htink that's well within reason, since the company's performance has not been what you'd call reward-worthy...
[and yes, I do realize that this is a mere drop in the bucket. But if everyone actually took care of their own drops, the well might refill a bit faster, and with less thirst among the hapless taxpayers who got dragged into this after the fact. Now, have I tortured that metaphor enough?]
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Date: 2009-03-18 03:42 am (UTC)i work for a capital management company. the investment teams' bonuses are tied to their performance. good performance and the bonus will be paid accordingly. i'm not sure how their legal department did up contracts that said... oh, no, you don't need ot have good performance. we give you money all the time! go go go! bankrupt us! it's all good! we give you more money.
sheesh.