By: Karen Freifeld
Source: bloomberg.com
Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and seven other U.S. banks paid $32.6 billion in bonuses in 2008 while receiving $175 billion in taxpayer funds, according to a report by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
The state analyzed 2008 bonuses at nine banks that got financing from the U.S. government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. New York-based Citigroup and Merrill, which has since taken over by Bank of America Corp., received tax dollars totaling $55 billion, Cuomo said.
“When the banks did well, their employees were paid well. When the banks did poorly, their employees were paid well,” Cuomo’s office said in the 22-page study. “When the banks did very poorly, they were bailed out by taxpayers and their employees were still paid well. Bonuses and overall compensation did not vary significantly as profits diminished.”
The document, “No Rhyme or Reason: The ‘Heads I Win, Tails You Lose’ Bank Bonus Culture,” comes as Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission examine whether to limit the compensation paid to top corporate executives.
