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[bobf <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

After my earlier post, I ran across this article outlining where some 
billions of the bail-out packages are going.  This is a reflection of the 
imbecilic , corrupt congress that pretends to represent us.  If the damn 
unions weren't as corrupt as the politicians and bankers, they could really 
build up strength with news like this.........

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Economy Stock Markets Earnings Opinion Personal Finance Press Releases 
Marketplace  AP study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs


Banks that have their hands out in Washington this year were handing out 
multimillion-dollar rewards to their executives last year.

The 116 banks that so far have received taxpayer dollars to boost them 
through the economic crisis gave their top tier of executives nearly $1.6 
billion in salaries, bonuses and other benefits in 2007, an Associated Press 
analysis found.

That amount, spread among the 600 highest paid bank executives, would cover 
the bailout money given to 53 of the banks that have shared the $188 billion 
that Washington has doled out in rescue packages so far.

Some banks trimmed their executive compensation in the face of faltering 
performance that foreshadowed the current economic crisis, but they still 
granted multimillion-dollar packages. Benefits included cash bonuses, stock 
options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country 
club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal 
securities documents found.

Such bonuses amount to a bribe for executives "to get them to do the jobs for 
which they are well paid in the first place," said Rep. Barney Frank, the 
Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services committee.

"Most of us sign on to do jobs, and we do them best we can," said Frank. 
"We're told that some of the most highly paid people in executive positions 
are different. They need extra money to be motivated!"

The AP review of annual reports that the banks file with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission found that the average paid to each of the banks' top 
executives was $2.6 million in salary, bonuses and benefits.

Among other findings:

• Lloyd Blankfein, president and chief executive of Goldman Sachs, took home 
nearly $54 million in compensation last year. The company's top five 
executives received a total of $242 million.

This year, Goldman's seven top-paid executives will work for their base 
salaries of $600,000, with no stock or cash bonuses, the company said. Last 
spring, before Wall Street's staggering losses and layoffs mushroomed, 
Goldman described its pay plan as essential to retain and motivate executives 
"whose efforts and judgments are vital to our continued success, by setting 
their compensation at appropriate and competitive levels." Goldman spokesman 
Ed Canaday declined to comment beyond that written report.

The New York-based company, after gains last year, on Dec. 16 reported its 
first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999. It received $10 billion in 
taxpayer money on Oct. 28.

• Even where banks cut back on pay, some executives were left with seven- or 
eight-figure compensation that most people can only dream about. Richard D. 
Fairbank, the chairman of Capital One Financial Corp., took a $1 million hit 
in compensation after his company had a disappointing year, but still got $17 
million in stock options. The McLean, Va.-based company received $3.56 
billion in bailout money on Nov. 14.

• John A. Thain, chief executive of Merrill Lynch, topped all corporate bank 
bosses with $83 million in earnings last year. Thain, a former chief 
operating officer for Goldman Sachs, came to Merrill Lynch in December 2007, 
avoiding the blame for a year in which Merrill lost $7.8 billion. Since he 
began work late in the year, he earned $57,692 in salary, a $15 million 
signing bonus and an additional $68 million in stock options.

Like Goldman, Merrill tapped taxpayers for $10 billion on Oct. 28.

The AP review comes amid sharp questions about the banks' commitment to the 
goals of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, a law designed to buy bad 
mortgages and other troubled assets. Last month, the Bush administration 
changed the program's goals, instructing the Treasury Department to pump tax 
dollars directly into banks to prevent wide economic collapse.

The program set restrictions on some executive compensation for participating 
banks, but did not limit salaries and bonuses unless they had the effect of 
encouraging excessive risk to the institution. Banks were barred from giving 
golden parachutes to departing executives and deducting some executive pay 
for tax purposes. Some banks are forgoing bonuses and restricting other 
compensation.

The records detailing last year's pay packages show that personal financial 
advice was among the executive perks. Wells Fargo of San Francisco, which 
took $25 billion in taxpayer bailout money, gave its top executives up to 
$20,000 each to pay financial planners.

At Bank of New York Mellon Corp., chief executive Robert P. Kelly's stipend 
for financial planning services came to $66,748, on top of his $975,000 
salary and $7.5 million bonus. His car and driver cost $178,879. Kelly also 
received $846,000 in relocation expenses, including help selling his home in 
Pittsburgh and purchasing one in Manhattan, the company said. 

Goldman Sachs, paying as much as $233,000 for an executive's car and driver, 
told its shareholders that financial counseling and chauffeurs were needed so 
executives would have more time to focus on their jobs. 

JPMorgan Chase chairman James Dimon ran up a $211,182 tab for private jet 
travel last year when his family lived in Chicago and he was commuting to New 
York. The company received $25 billion in bailout funds. 

Banks cite security to justify personal use of company aircraft for some 
executives. But Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., questioned that rationale, 
saying executives visit many locations more vulnerable than the nation's 
security-conscious commercial air terminals. 

Sherman, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said pay 
excesses undermine development of good bank economic policies and promote an 
escalating pay spiral among competing financial institutions — something 
particularly hard to take when banks then ask for rescue money. 

He wants them to come before Congress, like the automakers did, and spell out 
their spending plans for bailout funds. 

"The tougher we are on the executives that come to Washington, the fewer will 
come for a bailout," he said.