"top Wall Street bankers apologized yesterday.... But.... offered no regrets for executive pay"
Didn't sound like one to me.
"Bankers apologize for role in financial crisis; But they offer no regrets on pay, which is likely to rise" by Jim Kuhnhenn and Daniel Wagner, Associated Press | January 14, 2010
WASHINGTON - Challenged by a skeptical special commission, top Wall Street bankers apologized yesterday for risky behavior that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. But they still declared it seemed appropriate at the time.
The bankers - whose companies collectively received more than $100 billion in taxpayer assistance to weather the crisis - offered no regrets for executive pay that is now likely to increase as a result of their survival....
That's where the GREAT PAY came from.
“People are angry,’’ commission chairman Phil Angelides said.
Damn right we are!
Reports of “record profits and bonuses in the wake of receiving trillions of dollars in government assistance while so many families are struggling to stay afloat has only heightened the sense of confusion,’’ he said.
Related: The Biggest Bonuses of All Time
Here Comes Santa Claus' Sleigh
Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, took the brunt of the questions, especially on his firm’s practice of selling mortgage-backed securities and then betting against them.
Yup, just doing GOD'S WORK he says!
Related: The Galling Greed of Goldman Sachs
Yup, that's how they MADE MONEY out of slices of s***.!
“I’m just going to be blunt with you,’’ Angelides told him. “It sounds to me a little bit like selling a car with faulty brakes and then buying an insurance policy on the buyer of those cars.’’
Blankfein replied: “I do think the behavior is improper. We regret the consequence that people have lost money in it.’’ Later he defended the firm’s actions as “exercises in risk management.’’
And you wonder why he gets the slab?
The arrogance knows no bounds, does it?
In a moment of self-analysis, Blankfein said the financial world rationalized its way into risky transactions. Summarizing the thinking at the time, he said: “Gosh, the world is getting wealthier. Technology has done things. . . . These businesses are going to do well.’’ “You talked yourself into a place of complacency,’’ he concluded.
Well, stay right there!
PFFFFFFFFFFFT!
Now breathe, asshole!
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be being nice.
The panel began its yearlong inquiry amid rising public fury over bailouts and bankers’ pay. House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, said yesterday he will hold a hearing next week on bank compensation, looking to expand legislation that already passed the House.....
And is languishing in the Senate.
“We understand the anger felt by many citizens,’’ said Brian Moynihan, chief executive and president of Bank of America. “We are grateful for the taxpayer assistance we have received.’’ “Over the course of the crisis, we as an industry caused a lot of damage,’’ he said.
No, bud, I don't think you are understanding at all.
WE WANT ALL the MONEY BACK!!!
With Bank of America having repaid its bailout money, he said “the vast majority of our employees played no role in the economic crisis’’ and do not deserve to be penalized with lower pay. Moynihan said compensation levels will be higher next year than they were in 2008.
Oh, yeah, we've been repaid, right.
Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co., said most of his employees took “significant cuts in compensation’’ in 2008. He said his company would continue to pay people in a “responsible and disciplined manner.’’ Still, Dimon said, “We did make mistakes and there were things we could have done better.’’
Related:
"JP Morgan defies Obama by paying out billions in bonuses
Banking giant JP Morgan announced £16billion in pay and perks for staff yesterday, signalling the start of a bumper New Year for bankers. The huge figure flies in the face of international efforts to curb excessive payments to financial staff, characterised by Chancellor Alistair Darling's recently unveiled supertax on bonuses.
Good question!
See, that's positive!
John Mack, chairman of Morgan Stanley, said the crisis was “a powerful wake-up call for this firm.’’
No they didn't: Breaking News: The Biggest Bonuses of All Time
Even their contriteness is a LIE!
Outside experts say the banks’ changes to executive compensation move them in the right direction....
Yeah, you happy now, ungrateful Americans?
--more--"
I mean, they are doing all they can!
Bank may make bonuses stock-heavy
Bonuses have been under scrutiny since the industry received $637 billion in bailouts from US taxpayers. Bank of America said last week that it expects to pay record bonuses to some employees....
Philip Keevil, of Compass Advisers LLP in London. “It causes no pain to senior guys at the top of the banks. They have had many years of very high earnings, so they don’t need that cash.’’
Well, I DO so SEND SOME OF IT this way, will ya?
"Why are the JP Morgan Execs getting such huge bonuses when JP Morgan itself is NOT doing well?" -- Wake the Flock Up