In June 2009, as you may remember, Kenneth Feinberg was knighted Compensation Cop and given the authority to get involved in the payouts made to executives of 7 firms that received taxpayer bailouts. They included the biggest fuck-ups, who’d it’s be really bad to see generously compensating their top employees, like Citigroup, Bank of America, AIG. Goldman Sachs was not one of the companies required to get Feinberg’s approval on packages, but with the sensation of what it felt like to be strung up by the balls fresh in his mind, Lloyd Blankfein thought it’d be prudent to give the Comp Cop a buzz anyway, in a move that may surprise those who were previously under the impression Goldman didn’t answer to anyone. Continue reading »
Compensation Cop
Kenneth Feinberg Is Happy To Report Lloyd Blankfein Acted Like He Had To Care What The Government Thought When It Came To Executive Comp
By Bess LevinKenneth Feinberg To Inform Banks Whether Or Not He’ll Be Going After 2008′s Bonuses By The End Of The Week
By Bess LevinAccording to Charlie Gasparino, execs at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citi should gird their loins for the Compensation Cop to either announce that he’ll be clawing back their hard earned bonuses or to admit that he was just messing around, though they should really have seen the looks on their faces when they thought he might be serious.
His time here is almost over but before he takes off for a little maxing and relaxing, the Compensation Cop is apparently thinking about having some fun with bonuses that were paid out that for “the bailout year of 2008″ by all banks that took TARP funds and not just the ones who’ve yet to pay back the blood money. So not just fuck-ups like Citi and Bank of America but also institutions such as, to name a few, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and, gird your loins, Goldman Sachs. Feinberg has just finished a “look back” at the cheddar paid out by those institutions and according to Charlie Gasparino, “does not like what he saw.”
Sources say that Feinberg, in concluding his study, and one person with knowledge of Feinberg’s thinking says he is “leaning” toward forcing at least some of the big banks that he reviewed to give back bonus money.
Actually, that’ s not entirely fair. Kenneth Feinberg can *try* to renegotiate payments he characterizes as not good for the people. But when it comes down to it? Yeah he can’t do shit. Which is why we suggest K.Fein perform his “look back” while enjoying an herbal refreshment in Jimmy Cayne’s new executive suite (tricked out basement).
Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury Department’s special master for compensation, will send a letter Tuesday to 419 firms that received TARP funds seeking data on compensation paid to the top 25 executives. The pay review will cover a relatively short period but will capture the 2008 end-of-year bonus season at most large firms.
Mr. Feinberg can’t claw back any pay but can seek to renegotiate any payments he deems “not in the public interest.” He is required to perform the so-called “look back” under the legal statute that created the pay czar.
Over the companies out of his jurisdiction, though he’s closing his eyes and hoping for the best, i.e. that banks which don’t have to do what he says will decide on their own to take an ax to executive pay.
“The biggest disappointment, I think, is that under the statute my jurisdiction is so narrow, and so circumscribed, that I have no real direct mandatory power over other Wall Street or other national companies,” Feinberg said today in an interview with Bloomberg special contributor Judy Woodruff. “I have my fingers crossed that we have developed some guidelines, some compensation prescriptions that will be emulated,” Feinberg said.
Feinberg Says Lack of Pay Authority Is Disappointment [Bloomberg]
Finally, it pays to be Kenneth Feinberg’s special-needs CEO. You get this insider info before everyone else. The Times reports:
Under the plan, which will be announced in the next few days by the Treasury Department, the seven companies that received the most assistance will have to cut the annual salaries of their 25 best-paid executives by an average of about 90 percent from last year. The executive’s total compensation — including bonuses and retirement contributions — will drop, on average, by about 50 percent. The companies are Citigroup, Bank of America, the American International Group, General Motors, Chrysler and the financing arms of the two automakers.
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