Main Street

Shocker! Bailed-Out Bankers Got Huge Bonuses

In the waning days of the Bush administration, and before the implementation of restrictions on some executives’ pay, the highest paid bankers at 17 of the firms bailed out by the Bush Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) also got bonuses totaling $1.6 billion in the period from October 2008 to February 2009.

Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration’s special master on executive pay, issued a report today identifying the 17 banks, many of them among the nation’s largest, following an inquiry into compensation at all firms receiving TARP funds. The report does not include specifics on the amounts paid out at any of the banks.

NPR reports:

At a news conference on Friday, Feinberg stressed that the firms did nothing illegal, but that their actions reflected “bad judgment” that was “contrary to the public interest.”

Later, President Obama, speaking briefly at the White House, said the review was meant to put firms on notice “that continued to pay out lavish bonuses” as they received government assistance.

The inquiry focused on the five month period during which banks received TARP money but were not yet subject to the new compensation oversight provisions. During those five months alone nearly 3 million American workers had their jobs taken from them by the Great Recession caused by Wall Street and the Bush administration’s failures.

Of the 17 banks identified, 6 have not yet repaid the TARP funds. NPR provides a list:

Here are the 17 firms that Feinberg says made ill-advised payments. Those that have not yet fully repaid taxpayer bailouts are listed in bold:
* American Express
* AIG
* Bank of America
* Boston Private Financial Holdings
* Capital One
* CIT
* Citigroup
* JPMorgan Chase
* M&T Bank
* Morgan Stanley
* Regions Financial
* SunTrust Banks
* Bank of New York Mellon
* Goldman Sachs
* PNC Financial Services Group
* U.S. Bancorp
* Wells Fargo

Tags: banks, TARP, Wall Street