Wall Street Compensation Sets Another Record at $135 billion (9+ miles of $1,000 bills)

Seneca Niagara Casino Hotel and Tower is 358' Tall

Stack of $1,000 bills to the Very Top of this Building equals $1 bil

Wall Street Compensation in 2010 is 135 of these buildings

The Wall Street Journal
By Aaron Lucchetti and
Stephen Grocer
2/2/2011

When it comes to paychecks, Wall Street's law of gravity is back in full force: What goes down must come back up.

In 2010, total compensation and benefits at publicly traded Wall Street banks and securities firms hit a record of $135 billion, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal. The total is up 5.7% from $128 billion in combined compensation and benefits by the same companies in 2009.

The increase was fueled by a revenue rebound as the financial crisis recedes in the rearview mirror. At 25 large financial firms that have reported full-year results, revenue rose to $417 billion, another all-time high, even though last year's 1% increase was just a fraction of the industry's revenue jolt from 2008 to 2009 as trading and investment banking sprang back to life.

"Things are shifting back to where they were before," said J. Robert Brown, a law professor at the University of Denver who studies compensation and corporate-governance issues.

Buried in the numbers, though, are signs of how Wall Street's pay culture is bending in response to pressure from regulators and shareholders. Last year, deferred compensation made up as much as half of total pay, up from about a third previously, estimates Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates Inc., a New York pay consultant.

Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan got a 67% bump in his total compensation for 2010, the company said Monday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. tripled the salary of Chairman and CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein and increased his stock-based bonus 40% to $12.6 million. Rest of $135 Billion Record Compensation

Huffington Post Also Weighs In

Wall Street pay is rising, while income for normal Americans has stagnated.

Even as the real economy limped, financial firms paid employees a record sum last year, the Wall Street Journal reports. In 2009, the last full year data are available, average wages for Americans fell 1.5 percent from the previous year, according to the National Average Wage Index. Median household income in 2009 was "not statistically different" from 2008, according to the Census Bureau.

But total pay at Wall Street firms rose 5.7 percent in 2010, as the 25 companies that have already reported results shelled out a record $135 billion. Even as regulators pressured firms to alter compensation, prominent executives got big pay bumps, seeming to suggest that the former Wall Street culture has emerged virtually unscathed from the recession.

Grandpa would be Remiss Without Affording Tim Geithner

Recognition and Accolades for His Contributions

to those Hard Working Folks on Wall Street

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tackles five Myths about TARP: 1) cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, 2) was a gift for Wall Street that did nothing for Main Street, 3) left our financial system in weakened condition, 4) increased concentration in the financial system, and 5) served as the centerpiece of the Obama Administration’s strategy to control the economy.

Wall Street May Earn $19 BILLION, "We Could Not Have Done It Without You"

DiNapoli said Wall Street broker-dealer operations

 had lost $54 billion in 2007 and 2008,

but have benefited from a series of

federal bailouts as well as low interest rates.

Benefited!!! Lose $54 billion in 2007 and 2008

Welcome TARP Bailout of 2008

$20+ billion profit in 2009

$19 billion in 2010

11/16/10

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street may earn $19 billion in 2010, its fourth-most profitable year, even as regulatory changes and a weakened economy limits its ability to generate profit, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.

In a report released Tuesday, DiNapoli said profit might decline 69 percent from last year's record $61.4 billion, but may have settled near levels more in line with pre-crisis amounts.

DiNapoli said Wall Street broker-dealer operations had lost $54 billion in 2007 and 2008, but have benefited from a series of federal bailouts as well as low interest rates.

"Wall Street is adjusting to regulatory reforms and learning how to do business in the new financial reality," DiNapoli said in a statement.

Wall Street profits topped $20 billion in both 2000 and 2006, as well as in 2009, according to DiNapoli's report.

The comptroller said it is too soon to determine year-end bonus payouts. Bonuses totaled $20.3 billion in 2009, up 17 percent from a year earlier, he said.



Geithner Myth: TARP was a gift for Wall Street that did nothing for Main Street. UPDATE: Wall Street Pay: $144 BILLION

Tim Geithner tackles TARP Myths in his

October 10th Washington Post Op-Ed piece

Myth #2

The TARP was a gift for Wall Street that did nothing for Main Street.

Geithner's Myth Buster

To protect Main Street from the damage caused by a financial crisis, you must first put out the financial fire. That is precisely what the government did. And we focused resources directly on the victims of the crisis, rather than on the institutions that helped cause it.


By Liz Rappaport, Aaron Lucchetti and Stephen Grocer
10/11/10
The Wall Street Journal

Pay on Wall Street is on pace to break a record high for a second consecutive year, according to a study conducted by The Wall Street Journal.

About three dozen of the top publicly held securities and investment-services firms—which include banks, investment banks, hedge funds, money-management firms and securities exchanges—are set to pay $144 billion in compensation and benefits this year, a 4% increase from the $139 billion paid out in 2009, according to the survey. Compensation was expected to rise at 26 of the 35 firms.

The data showed that revenue was expected to rise at 29 of the 35 firms surveyed, but at a slower pace than pay. Wall Street revenue is expected to rise 3%, to $448 billion from $433 billion, despite a slowdown in some high-profile activities like stock and bond trading.

Overall, Wall Street is expected to pay 32.1% of its revenue to employees, the same as last year, but below the 36% in 2007. Profits, which were depressed by losses in the past two years, have bounced back from the 2008 crisis. But the estimated 2010 profit of $61.3 billion for the firms surveyed still falls about 20% short from the record $82 billion in 2006. Over that same period, compensation across the firms in the survey increased 23%.

"Until focus of these institutions changes from revenue generation to long-term shareholder value, we will see these outrageous pay packages and compensation levels," said Charles Elson, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance.

Firms surveyed said it is too early to comment on 2010 compensation levels. Many firms say that if they don't adequately compensate employees, they risk losing top talent.

The pay numbers show that firms, benefiting from low interest rates and strong international markets, continue to base their pay on economic and market conditions rather than the level of pressure coming from regulators in Washington and overseas.

Still, politicians and market watchdogs have been successful in influencing the structure of pay, if not its levels. They have pushed for more compensation in stock and other deferred instruments. Firms have found other ways to limit the risks employees take for short-term gains, which was mandatory for firms that accepted government funds during the financial crisis.

Many large Wall Street firms have come out from under the Treasury Department's rules about pay. But with the passage of financial-overhaul legislation that aims to change pay policies, many public firms are still awaiting specific rules. Those rules, as required by the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory bill, won't be written for several months.

"The current wave of regulation is helping keep comp relatively flat," said Steven Eckhaus, a partner at law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP.

There are some signs that pay might slow down in coming quarters. Tough new rules about how much capital banks must hold could force Wall Street to cut back on compensation in an effort to preserve returns on equity for shareholders, analysts say. Since Wall Street firms pay out up to half of their revenue in compensation, cutting back on that large cost can meaningfully increase profits left for shareholders. Complete WSJ Article

"Welcome to Wall Street Executive Air flight 2009 with service to Economic Disaster."

Thank you Zero Hedge

"Welcome to Wall Street Executive Air flight 2009 with service to Economic Disaster." All you need to know about the endangered species of Wall Street Faticus Caticus, and why it is about to cannibalize itself into oblivion, in a simple cartoon even Saturday night drunks can comprehend.

Well done recap of the Wall Street Banks, Bailout and of course the Bonuses. Enjoy the flight...while it lasts.

Ken Feinberg goes wimpy and will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today

Ken Feinberg...talks tough however no action

Shahien Nasiripour
Huffington Post

The federal overseer entrusted with investigating Wall Street pay has declined to take action, arguing that the public wouldn't be served by going after $1.6 billion that 17 financial firms doled out to their employees in the five months after taxpayer-bailouts began in the fall of 2008.

Among other duties, Congress granted Kenneth R. Feinberg, the Obama administration's "pay czar," the legal authority to attempt to recover excessive compensation that may have been contrary to the "public interest."

Though acknowledging the massive payouts were "ill-advised" and exhibited "bad judgment" -- some bankers were paid more than $10 million, he said -- Feinberg refused to rule that any of the massive payouts went against the public's interest.

"As a matter of fairness, to label these payments years later as contrary to the public interest, with all the consequences that might roll from that?" Feinberg asked. "No, I don't think that would be right."

Asked what consequences could arise from recouping public funds, Feinberg replied:

"The consequences might be lawsuits, private lawsuits -- a huge threat if I made that finding. Congress might very well be more willing to intervene if there was such a finding. This might go on. There might be a new chapter. There still might be a new chapter -- I don't know.

"But I'm trying to minimize the likelihood that today's decision will trigger another round now of investigations and litigation. I've tried to strike that balance."

That balance Feinberg struck means bailed-out bankers get to keep their loot while taxpayers are left holding the bag.

The 17 firms are American Express, AIG, Boston Private Financial Holdings, Capital One, Bank of America, CIT Group, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, M&T Bank, Morgan Stanley, Regions Financial, SunTrust Banks, Bank of New York Mellon, Goldman Sachs, PNC Financial Services, U.S. Bancorp, and Wells Fargo.

The group represents 15 of the 32 biggest banks in the country, including the six biggest, Federal Reserve data show. AIG was once the world's largest insurer. Boston Private Financial Holdings has less than 1,000 employees.

Feinberg reviewed the pay of the top 25 executives at 419 bailed-out firms. He decided to focus on those 17, as they doled out $1.6 billion of the $1.7 billion in questionable pay. After speaking with the firms, Feinberg issued a set of voluntary recommendations. One of them was for firms to restructure their pay practices so employees wouldn't be guaranteed payouts if their firms faltered.

Feinberg said banks told him that they had to pay out such huge sums because they were contractually obligated to. Feinberg thinks firms should be free to restructure or even cancel those contracts. The banks told him they'd take his recommendations "under advisement."

That money "is just the tip of the iceberg that needs to be recouped from Wall Street," said Stephen Lerner, who directs the bank and financial reform campaign for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The SEIU has 2.2 million members, according to its website.

"This is a lead-in to a bigger problem," Lerner continued. "We've got pension funds that lost hundreds of billions of dollars. We've got cities and states that are having to lay off firefighters because they got stuck in bad deals with Wall Street. It's critical that we recoup...that money."

Told that Feinberg said he wanted to minimize the amount of new litigation and investigations, Lerner said that Feinberg's findings "open a Pandora's box of why there aren't bigger investigations, why there isn't more litigation, and why there aren't more efforts to recoup [Wall Street's] ill-gotten gains.

"The notion that we can wash our hands and say everything is fine now is crazy," he added.

Feinberg said that of the 17 firms, 11 had fully repaid their TARP money, plus interest. That factored into his decision over whether to crack down on the banks.

"I think we did our best here at Treasury in balancing second-guessing, armchair-quarterbacking with a statutory mandate to seek reimbursement in appropriate cases," the pay master said. "With Congress providing not much guidance on how to take a look at these companies," he added. "I am very comfortable with our findings.

"As to the remaining 17 [firms], I point with a great deal of pride that 11 of them have already reimbursed the taxpayer. I mean, I really do think that is the best example...of the wisdom of TARP and how these companies were saved by the taxpayer," Feinberg said.

He added that "we all move forward with lessons learned and that we put this sad chapter behind us and look forward."

Link to other Shahien Posts...worth reading

Cost of Financial Reform for Goldman Sachs...$550 MILLION (a small price to pay for $16.2 BILLION in bonuses)

How ironic, the day our band of incompetent Senators pass a watered down, farce of a  financial reform bill, Goldman Sachs settles with the SEC for an estimated $550 MILLION. Yes, you to can stick it to whomever and whenever it is in your best interest and all you need to do is write a check.

New York Times January 21, 2010

Despite a record 2009, the bank announced that it had set aside only $16.2 billion to reward its employees.

Naturally, Goldman Sachs will not admit any wrongdoing. One half a billion dollars for not doing anything wrong. The market was in a position to roll over and test the lows of the day until the SEC saved the day with "SEC plans 'significant' announcement Thursday" . The U.S. stock market launched around 2:30 pm CDT based on the rumor and why not, just like Goldman Sachs, Wall Street is equally corrupt and manipulative.

CNBC was all over, "maybe, just maybe the Goldman Sachs settlement will remove the cloud hanging over the market and be the reason for a rally". Maria was giddy! The Standard and Poor's futures launched from 1082 to 1095 in less than 1/2 hour on the rumor. Clearly the stench of economic data released earlier in the day and yesterday instantaneously became meaningless..

AT 3:50 pm CDT Goldman Sachs stock is up $12.30+ clear evidence that Wall Street loves it when one of their hose-bag brothers gets off with a fine. Business as usual reigns. Yes America, Wall Street's lobbying investment has paid off nicely for them...as always!

And to think that prior generations actually had dirt under their fingernails and made huge sacrifices for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Old Wall Street Discusses the New (New York Times)

Floyd Norris-New York Times

June 21, 2010

Old Wall Street Discusses the New

Christian Wyser-Pratte, a retired investment banker, sends a note that deserves a wider audience. (I have edited it a bit to conform to the norms of a family Web site.)

He writes:
The old pay system (era of John Whitehead): you work at an investment bank for 30 years, have a reasonable draw and cash bonus, build up stock in the firm as most of your bonus, and when you decide to retire you request of the partners their permission to go limited. If they assent, you get to withdraw your money over five years, all the while continuing to expose the balance to the risks of the enterprise.

The new pay system post-Donald Lufkin Jenrette’s original I.P.O.: you’re a young 29-year-old punk playing with OPM (Other People’s Money), taking huge risks for which you get huge bonuses, while the outsiders shoulder the losses on your bets. You make all the money you’ll ever need in three years, stay around 15 years to pile up five times as much as you need, and then you retire with your cash hoard, buy a winery in Napa/Sonoma or a huge farm in Connecticut, living above the fray for the rest of your life.

Which system, do you think, makes people consider the downside of their actions?

Sunday Comics...Grandpa's 500th post edition

Mr. Feinberg, as Pay Czar, describe your overall

impact on Wall Street bonuses to date...

General Motors Heated Washer Fluid System Recall Fix

Pres. Obama's perceived venue for meeting with

British Petroleum's Chairman and Executives

Bodyguard candidates for French President Sarkozy

after he reportedly banned tall security personnel

 from applying to be his personal bodyguards

Recommended attire when test driving the iPad

Apple defends the cleanliness of its stores and

remains committed to creating a healthy

environment for their customers

What Carly Fiorina reads between interviews

Did you hear the one about Bernanke stating that

he believes AIG will pay back all their TARP money...

New Law Forces CEOs To Humbly Shrug Before Receiving Massive Bonuses (The Onion)

CEOs who pretend to give back bonuses will be eligible for additional tax credits.

WASHINGTON—Securities and Exchange Commission officials are calling it the strictest regulatory reform since the Great Depression: CEOs of major financial institutions will now be required to humbly shrug and smile sheepishly before accepting huge salary bonuses.

The new regulation, SEC rule 206(b)-7, will reportedly target Wall Street executives who accept disgustingly bloated annual payouts, forcing them to raise and then lower their shoulders in a manner that conveys a mild degree of humility or a sense of "Aw, shucks. Who? Me?"

"This sweeping new reform sends a clear message to fat-cat CEOs at firms like Goldman Sachs and AIG," SEC chair Mary Schapiro said Monday. "Never again will they be able to receive massive bonuses unless, at a minimum, they flash a gee-I-don't-think-I-should expression and say something like 'Well, all right, but only if you insist' first."

"Mark my words," she continued, "The days of greedy, out-of-touch executives pocketing outrageous $40 million bonuses without acting slightly embarrassed about it are over."

The crackdown comes on the heels of Wall Street's 2010 bonus season, during which not one executive was observed to look at the floor meekly, sink his hands into his pockets, or dig his right toe awkwardly into the ground before taking his cut of the estimated $55 billion in payouts.

The SEC rule stipulates that CEOs set to receive bonuses between $1 and $5 million will be required to raise their eyebrows in feigned surprise. Those who make between $5 and $10 million will have to smile uncomfortably and say, "Yikes, that's a whole lot of simoleons," while executives receiving more than seven figures must now audibly stammer, "It's, you know, I mean, ha! What are you gonna do, you know?" before having the funds wired directly to an offshore bank account.
Link to complete Article

Jon Stewart on Goldman Sachs Fraud Charges and a mocking of Jim Cramer

Jon Stewart at his best. Mocks Jim "Village People" Cramer and wants to know if Goldman Sachs paid $5.4 billion in bonuses this quarter to their fraud division. And what is the status of financial reform??????

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
These F@#king Guys - Goldman Sachs
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Chuck Prince- Robert Rubin: Pathetic excuses of human beings and Grandpa suggesting some reading materials

Today, Chuck Prince and Robert Rubin appeared before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) to answer “what” and “why” questions regarding the “financial crisis” that all but took down the planet.

Quick grandpa side bar note: the media, government and FCIC treat this “crisis” as though it was a natural disaster when in fact it was 100% human made. The weather Gods did not play a role in subprime mortgages nor did the Wind, Rain, Snow or Heat Gods command a position on boards of the largest financial institutions in this country. That being said, on to the post…

Chuck Prince and Robert Rubin performed an Oscar-like apology during today’s hearing albeit they missed the big awards event by a month (clearly, that is not all they missed).

Chuck Prince: And..... Action!

"I'm sorry that the financial crisis has had such a devastating impact on our country. I'm sorry for the millions of people, average Americans who have lost their homes". "And I'm sorry that our management team, starting with me, like so many others, could not see the unprecedented market collapse that lay before us".

Robert Rubin: And..... Action!

Almost all of us in the financial system, including financial firms, regulators, rating agencies, analysts and commentators missed the powerful combination of forces at work and the serious possibility of a massive crisis". "We all bear responsibility for not recognizing this, and I deeply regret that".

This was the extent of their attempt of an Oscar-like tug at the heart strings performance. The remaining moments of their performance was classic Wall Street “excuse-speak”.

“….they weren’t aware of the size of Citigroup’s position in mortgage-related securities or the risks surrounding them….”

“It’s hard to put yourself back mentally at that time…”

Citigroup’s faith in the creditworthiness of CDOs “looks pretty unwise” today…

“…blamed the financial crisis on a combination of prolonged low interest rates, the growth of the securitization market, policies encouraging home ownership and the “patchwork nature” of subprime mortgage regulation...”

Rubin: …spotted “market excesses” prior to the financial crisis and predicted they would lead to a “cyclical downturn” at “some unpredictable point.”

“The overriding lesson of the financial crisis was that the financial system is subject to more severe downside risk than almost anyone had foreseen.”

…Warning signs that a crisis was coming “were not obvious at the time”

Chuck Prince: “I think it is absolutely incorrect to suggest that Mr. Rubin had any central responsibility to what happened at Citigroup”.

“At the time, the financial people were working very intensely with the fixed-income people to try to determine exposures…”

Robert Rubin: “didn’t remember the presentation that was made to Citigroup board members”. The remaining assets were “super-senior” and were probably viewed within Citigroup as presenting different “classes of exposure…”

Grandpa's time to cut to the chase:
Chuck Prince and Robert Rubin are pathetic excuses for Human Beings let alone Wall Street executives. The two of you justified your monsterous compensation packages as you alledged you were the "best and brightest" on Wall Street.

Chuck Prince compensation (Andrew Sorkin NY Times 4/5/10): As a thank-you present for running the bank into the ground, the board gave Mr. Prince a parting gift valued at $12.5 million. Yes, you read that correctly, $12.5 million. That exit bonus was on top of the $68 million he received in stock and options he had accumulated over his many years at the company; a $1.7 million pension; and an office, car and driver for up to five years. In exchange, Mr. Prince signed an agreement not to compete with Citigroup for five years.

We parents and grandparents do our best to shape and guide the next generation to take responsibility for their actions, take pride in how they conduct themselves and to place integrity as a top tier virtue.

Grandpa suggests you read the following:

It worked for us....

Now to Explain the Party Favors by Andrew Sorkin

The New York Times (4/5/2010)
Andrew Sorkin

On Thursday, two of the biggest — and among the most tarnished — names on Wall Street will testify in front of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in Washington: Charles O. Prince III, the former chairman and chief executive of Citigroup, and Robert E. Rubin, a former top adviser and director of the bank. On the watch of these men, Citigroup lost more money than almost any company in history, requiring an extraordinary government bailout.

There are, of course, many important questions for the commissioners to ask these men about how and why the bank filled its balance sheet with so many bad subprime loans, taking on enough risk to nearly topple the system.

But there is one small question, not so obvious, that has been crying out for an answer for years, and it has nothing to do with exoticisms like C.D.O.’s or C.D.S.’s. Instead, this question is about incentives and compensation on Wall Street and a mind-set — a group-think really — that pervaded not just Citigroup but the entire industry.

In 2007, Mr. Prince resigned from Citigroup under pressure, after the bank announced that it had written down $5.9 billion to account for the declining value of its mortgage assets and would most likely write down $8 billion to $11 billion more. (Boy, was that estimate off; those write-downs actually added up to tens of billions.)

As a thank-you present for running the bank into the ground, the board gave Mr. Prince a parting gift valued at $12.5 million. Yes, you read that correctly, $12.5 million. That exit bonus was on top of the $68 million he received in stock and options he had accumulated over his many years at the company; a $1.7 million pension; and an office, car and driver for up to five years. In exchange, Mr. Prince signed an agreement not to compete with Citigroup for five years.

This wasn’t a case of the board paying out an exit bonus to a chief executive with no whiff of a problem, only to find time bombs ticking after he left. Mr. Rubin and Citigroup’s other directors decided to pay the $12.5 million bonus knowing very well that Citigroup’s market value had dropped by $64 billion during Mr. Prince’s tenure.

So the simple question for Mr. Rubin and Mr. Prince is, Why? Why would you knowingly reward such failure? What is it about the culture of Citigroup and Wall Street that encouraged you to approve such a large party favor? Why was there reason to give a bonus at all?




Link to complete Andrew Sorkin article

Grandpa:
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is a bipartisan commission that has been given a critical non-partisan mission — to examine the causes of the financial crisis that has gripped the country and to report our findings to the Congress, the President, and the American people.

Phil Angelidesis Chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and from 1999 to 2007, he served as California's State Treasurer. Dear

Mr. Angelidesis, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, please take the gloves off during this hearing and take these self-absorbed gluttonous "executives" to task! It is imperative that Robert Rubin's era of pillaging ceases!! Maybe, just maybe his Treasury Secretary successors (Summers and Geithner) will get the message.

Dylan Ratigan: Geithner delusional about Wall Street?

Note Tim's prior experience as the "crisis" occurred under his watch. Of course Timmy neglects to mention that tidbit of information. Grandpa maintains that Geithner is delusional about more than just Wall Street.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Dylan Ratigan: Government Bonuses to Financial Regulators

Banks' greed and irresponsibility all but take down the entire economy and yet, they end up with monumental bonuses. The Federal Government Regulators because of their "superior performance" also receive taxpayer assessed bonuses. What is going on???

Grandpa is just shaking his head. No, it is not a movie!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bankers continue to rake in the bonuses (Wells Fargo CEO $21.3 million package for 2009)

Wells Fargo strategically used the diversion of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, AIG and Freddie/Fannie while crafting the compensation package for their top executives. John Stumpf, CEO was rewarded with a $21.3 million compensation package for 2009. This was almost 2 ½ times his $8.8 million package for 2008.

After receiving and paying back the $25 billion TARP funds, Wells Fargo managed a record $12.3 billion profit in 2009. Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner maintain the “bailout” benefited Main Street.

Shareholders at the bank's annual meeting will also vote on a shareholder proposal to hold a "say on pay" vote at each annual meeting. The bank is recommending that shareholders vote against this proposal. Would you expect the bank to recommend the proposal, potentially making it more challenging when drafting a $58,000 per day compensation package?

GMAC’s Carpenter Gets Pay Package Rivaling Blankfein

March 2 (Bloomberg) -- GMAC Inc., the auto and home lender that hasn’t cracked a profit since 2008, gave Chief Executive Officer Michael Carpenter a pay package rivaling that of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who runs the most profitable securities firm in U.S. history.

GMAC paid Carpenter about $1.2 million in salary and restricted stock for the month-and-a-half he was employed by the Detroit-based company last year, equivalent to full-year pay of $9.5 million, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. Goldman Sachs paid Blankfein $9.6 million for 2009.

Carpenter, a 62-year-old former Citigroup Inc. executive who also ran Travelers Life & Annuity Co. and Kidder Peabody Group Inc., replaced former CEO Alvaro de Molina in mid- November. Carpenter’s package was approved by Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration paymaster who oversees GMAC compensation because the company received $17.3 billion in taxpayer bailout funds, GMAC said in the filing.

“His compensation was determined by the special master and reflects his experience leading other large complex financial- services organizations,” spokeswoman Gina Proia said in an interview. “Mike has joined GMAC at a critical time in turning around the operation.”

GMAC reported a loss in nine of the past 10 quarters and hasn’t had a profit since the final quarter of 2008. The company posted a record $3.9 billion loss in the fourth quarter and lost $10.3 billion for the year. De Molina received $3.7 million last year, according to the filing.

Link to complete articleGMAC CEO close to what Blankfein pulled in

The insanity never ends! At the end of December, GMAC received $3.8 billion in a third installment of government money. GMAC got $12.5 billion in two previous bailouts and almost $1 billion that was funneled through GM, which used it to invest in GMAC.

This is a complete disgrace and why America continues to sit back and simply absorb the injustice puzzles this grandpa to no end.

Enough is Enough...Grandpa's message to Congress and the Administration

For the sake of the next generation, this generation needs to wake up to reality, assume responsibility for our current demise, cease bipartisan non-productive bickering, accept the fact that “fail” (no matter how big) is not a bad 4 letter “f” word and implement prudent fiscal policies (that do not include passing the ills of this generation on to our grandchildren).

DISPLAY THESE PHOTOS AROUND CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE AND THEN DECIDE IF YOU WILL STICK OUR GRANDKIDS WITH MORE DEBT.

John Thain and his $1.22 million Merrill Lynch office remodel (including a $35,000 commode). Ran Merrill Lynch into the ground and is now CEO of CIT Group for a cool $6 million. Hey John, this family would have benefited tremendously just from the cost to ship your commode.

Nancy Pelosi and her 12 person day trip to Haiti to display "support".

 Dear Nancy, how about a phone call and save our grandchildren

thousands of dollars!

What did you and the dirty dozen really accomplish?

CEO's of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their $6 million 2 year compensation packages. $121 billion cost to taxpayers since the September 2008 government take over of these two enties. The kids feel a lot more secure with the knowledge that we have a pay czar

looking out for their best intrerest.

To Wall Street and Banks; record bonuses, financially

engineered products, algorithmic trading programs, credit default swaps,

creative credit card fee structure and for doing God's work.

I dare Ken Lewis, Jamie Dimon, Lloyd Blankfein, Angelo Mozilo,

John Mack, Vikram Pandit, Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner and

Ben Bernanke to ask  Main Street if the bailout was really about them...

Tim Geithner recused himself on AIG bailout specifics after

being nominated for Treasury Secretary. Right Timmy, explain that to

the kids and look into their eyes while you explain how a

$70 billion "investment" in AIG was to their benefit!

In a letter to the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department a bipartisan group, led by Paul Kanjorski, a Pennsylvania Democrat, and Ken Calvert, a California Republican, urged the agencies to publicly encourage lenders to make credit available for property owners who want to refinance mortgages on performing assets whose values have declined. NO MORE BAILOUTS PAUL AND KEN…when the value of a stock drops, will you send a letter to the NYSE on behalf of your constituents?

Ben Bernanke (5/17/07): “The sub prime mess is grave but largely contained. Given the fundamental factors in place that should support the demand for housing, we believe the effect of the troubles in the sub prime sector on the broader housing market

 will likely be limited”.

And the congressional lemmings afford Ben another 4 years.

Ed Whitacre, Chairman of GM (Government Motors) will receive an annual compensation package of $9 million. His base cash salary is $1.7 million. Yes America, yet another rags riches to richer story. GM receives $60 billion in loans courtesy of the taxpayer, enters bankruptcy in June 2009 and the government (a.k.a taxpayer) owns 62% of the company. 

Chris Dodd and Richard Shelby still throwing sand at each other regarding financial reform. The U.S. Government handed over $85 billion to AIG in

September 2008 and financial reform has yet to be drafted.

To the irresponsible homeowner who believed one’s home was equivalent to an ATM and removed thousands of dollars in equity to feed their need for consumption (a.k.a autos, vacations, boat, motorcycle etc). Now, the loan balance exceeds the home value and grandchildren are supposed to make up the difference! This is insanity!!

This message is to all current and past members of congress and White House administrations for your completely inept fiscal responsibility. The staggering debt levels placed on our children and grandchildren is criminal. The leadership of this country has been and continues to be 100% self centered. IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU! You have a moral obligation to include representation of those that are literally developing a voice. PLACE THIS PHOTO ON THE NEXT BUDGET BILL.

Obama doesn’t “begrudge” bonuses for “savvy” Blankfein and Dimon

Bloomberg:
President Barack Obama said he doesn’t “begrudge” the $17 million bonus awarded to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon or the $9 million issued to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, noting that some athletes take home more pay.

The president, speaking in an interview, said in response to a question that while $17 million is “an extraordinary amount of money” for Main Street, “there are some baseball players who are making more than that and don’t get to the World Series either, so I’m shocked by that as well.”

“I know both those guys; they are very savvy businessmen,” Obama said in the interview yesterday in the Oval Office with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which will appear on newsstands Friday. “I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free- market system.”

You better buck up; missing the World Series

 "shocks" our President

Record Bonuses for the Gangster Wall Street Banks

According to an analysis conducted by The Wall Street Journal, major U.S. banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their people $145 billion for 2009.

The Wall Street Journal Analysis shows that executives, traders, investment bankers, money managers and others at 38 top financial companies can expect to earn nearly 18% more than they did in 2008 and slightly more than 2007.

NOTE: these record setting bonuses comes within a year of the government bailing out the financial system.

Just this past Monday, Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase) defended the bank’s pay policy and stated, “I am a little tired of the constant vilification of these people over bonuses”.

Sounds like Mr. Dimon's feelings are hurt. You are a little tired of constant vilification! You and your “band of brothers” on Wall Street through collective greed and fiscal ineptitude gave our economy one of the greatest wedgies since the Great Depression.

Your industry is experiencing record bonuses while this country experiences soaring foreclosures, staggering U.S. debt levels and a record duration of unemployment currently at 29 weeks. In addition, 37.2 million Americans (1 in 8) received food stamps so cry us a river Mr. Dimon.

Well Mr. Dimon, on behalf of future generations, I too am a bit tired!