Bonus Money at Troubled A.I.G. Draws Heavy Criticism

**Jason** · 03-15-2009, 06:38 PM

WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials and Republicans alike were nearly universal in condemning the $165 million in bonuses that the American International Group, which has received more than $170 billion in taxpayer bailout money from the Treasury and Federal Reserve, is to pay executives in the business unit that brought the company to the brink of collapse last year.

“There are a lot of terrible things that have happened in the last 18 months, but what’s happened at A.I.G. is the most outrageous,” said Lawrence H. Summers, President Obama’s chief economic adviser, during an appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.” “What that company did, the way it was not regulated, the way no one was watching, what’s proved necessary — is outrageous.”

The bonus plan established for the financial products unit before the federal government stepped in called for $220 million in retention pay for 400 employees for 2008. About $55 million of that was paid in December and the remaining $165 million was paid on Friday.

The retention plan also calls for another $230 million in bonuses for 2009 that are due to be paid by March 2010. Combined with the 2008 bonuses, that would bring the total retention pay for financial products executives to $450 million. But in response to pressure from Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, A.I.G. agreed to reduce its 2009 bonuses for the financial products unit by 30 percent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/bu...pagewanted=all

**simpswr** · 03-15-2009, 06:57 PM

Jeez . . in this environment, that is an IQ test . . I'd be shorting AIG right now!

**Chode** · 03-15-2009, 08:27 PM

Strange, but the way remember my corporate days, I was paid for meeting my performance goals and I got a bonus if I exceeded them. Um, I'm pretty sure I never got a bonus for screwing up to the max.

03-15-2009, 06:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jason Faugh a ballagh Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Pasco, FL Posts: 8,477 OS: Windows Vista My System Blog Entries: 2	Bonus Money at Troubled A.I.G. Draws Heavy Criticism WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials and Republicans alike were nearly universal in condemning the $165 million in bonuses that the American International Group, which has received more than $170 billion in taxpayer bailout money from the Treasury and Federal Reserve, is to pay executives in the business unit that brought the company to the brink of collapse last year. “There are a lot of terrible things that have happened in the last 18 months, but what’s happened at A.I.G. is the most outrageous,” said Lawrence H. Summers, President Obama’s chief economic adviser, during an appearance Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.” “What that company did, the way it was not regulated, the way no one was watching, what’s proved necessary — is outrageous.” The bonus plan established for the financial products unit before the federal government stepped in called for $220 million in retention pay for 400 employees for 2008. About $55 million of that was paid in December and the remaining $165 million was paid on Friday. The retention plan also calls for another $230 million in bonuses for 2009 that are due to be paid by March 2010. Combined with the 2008 bonuses, that would bring the total retention pay for financial products executives to $450 million. But in response to pressure from Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, A.I.G. agreed to reduce its 2009 bonuses for the financial products unit by 30 percent. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/bu...pagewanted=all __________________ Posting Tips \| Advice for New People \| Common Fixes \| Agus na damnaithe fágtha gan focal Glaoigh ormsa i measc na naomh

03-15-2009, 06:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
simpswr Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: May 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 12,271 OS: XP, Vista, Win 7	Re: Bonus Money at Troubled A.I.G. Draws Heavy Criticism Jeez . . in this environment, that is an IQ test . . I'd be shorting AIG right now! __________________ Rich MemTest86 \| BenchTest \| Virus/Trojan/Spyware Help How to post a Screen Shot \| PC running slow?

03-15-2009, 08:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chode TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,280 OS: Windows XP Pro	Re: Bonus Money at Troubled A.I.G. Draws Heavy Criticism Strange, but the way remember my corporate days, I was paid for meeting my performance goals and I got a bonus if I exceeded them. Um, I'm pretty sure I never got a bonus for screwing up to the max. __________________ Sweet!