If an employee brings in revenue or cost savings for their company, is it unreasonable for that person to receive a bonus equivalent to one percent of the value they brought to the firm?
Should the one percent change if the value brought to the firm is $10,000 as opposed to $10 million? Does it matter if the person is a Wall Street banker?
In my March issue of Forbes Magazine, I read an anonymous submission entitled, “An anonymous trader defends his pay.”
Here is the text:
In 2008, during the darkest hours of the global financial crisis, true heroes emerged on Wall Street. Skilled professionals were sent in …read more

AIG still trying to pay bonuses.

American International Group Inc., commonly known as AIG, is once again ready to start handing out bonuses. The last time they handed out bonuses, it didn’t go over too well with the American public. In fact, it prompted everything from boycotts to protests.
Prior to handing out bonuses this time, AIG is going to ask permission from Obama’s administration. Specifically, AIG will run their bonuses plan by Kenneth Feinberg — the person in charge of corporate compensation for those companies that have received bailout funding.
Even though AIG isn’t required by law to ask for permission regarding these bonuses since they were …read more

Morgan Stanley, a global company in the financial and banking industries, said the company would be lowering the bonuses some executives were scheduled to receive. Base salaries would also be adjusted, according to Morgan Stanley in a filing with the SEC.
After AIG executives were roasted for receiving scheduled bonuses, this sounds like a good idea by Morgan Stanley. According to multiple accounts, Morgan Stanley received a lot of help by the United States federal government during the recent financial crisis. Like with AIG, people around the country could have been up in arms with Morgan Stanley if reports indicated that …read more

The two largest mortgage finance companies in the United States are planning to hand out $210 million in bonuses to their employees despite taking a combined $60 billion in federal bailout money. This revelation likely won’t sit well with the general public, especially consider the outcry that was heard after it came to light that AIG gave more than $160 million in bonuses.
The two companies, Freddie Mac and Frannie Mae, combine to finance approximately half of all mortgages in the United States. After massive financial troubles, each company is now run by the federal government. In recent months, they have …read more

The United States federal government has received $353 million from five banks. The money is repayment for bailout handouts that were given to banks throughout the country to keep the nation’s economy afloat. On top of that money, the five banks gave the feds dividends amounting to almost $6 million.
The main motivation for banks to repay the federal government is due to the fact that the feds are now taking a closer look at companies that received bailout money and are instituting harsher restrictions on how that money can be spent. A big reason for the tougher stance by the …read more

Freedom Watch, a group that claims to be dedicated to keeping America free from crooked business practices, has filed a lawsuit against American International Group. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the AIG shareholders that have lost approximately $200 billion since 2000.
Claiming that the losses were due to mismanagement, Freedom Watch is going after Edward Liddy, the current CEO of AIG, and three former CEO. Neither Liddy nor the three former AIG CEOs (Robert Willumstand, Martin Sullivan and Maurice Greenberg) have commented on the lawsuit.
This is far from the first time AIG has found itself in legal trouble. After …read more

Executives for AIG who came under fire for receiving in excess of $160 million in bonuses despite the fact that the company was bailed out by taxpayers have agreed to give back approximately $50 million in bonuses. Making the announcement was Andrew Cuomo, the Attorney General for the state of New York. Earlier in the month, Cuomo subpoenaed to get the names of the AIG executives who were receiving the bonuses.
In total, multiple reports indicate that more than 350 AIG employees were given bonuses. More than six dozen of those employees received a bonus of at least $1 million. The …read more

To get their message of anger across, a number of protesters headed to the homes owned by executives of American International Group. AIG executives have been in the news recently after reports indicated that they were to receive millions of dollars in bonuses despite AIG receiving more than $180 billion in federal bailout money.
Following a public outcry, it’s expected that the AIG executives will ultimately end up not seeing most of their bonus money. Going forward, the United States federal government says they will monitor bonuses closely for those companies that are receiving bailout aid.
Once arriving at the homes located …read more

American International Group (AIG) lost more than $60 billion in the final three months of 2008 and has received more than $160 billion in federal aid. However, those facts won’t stop the $165 million that the company will hand over to its executives in the form of bonuses.
Although President Barack Obama has stated that he wants to make sure that bailout money simply isn’t going into the pockets of the top executives at companies receiving the federal money, AIG insists that they don’t have any other alternative in this situation. According to the company, management agreed to these bonuses in …read more