NY Attorney General Cuomo Asks AIG To Reveal Plans For Executive Pay

NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday asked troubled insurance giant American International Group to reveal whether it intends to give bonuses or raises to its executives this year.

In a letter to AIG chief executive Edward Liddy, Cuomo said he believed the company had a duty to be "completely transparent" with taxpayers about executive pay. AIG has received $150 billion so far in federal aid, more than any other company.

Several struggling financial institutions have announced in recent days that they are canceling bonuses for top executives, including Goldman Sachs, the Swiss bank UBS and the British bank Barclays.

Cuomo has praised those moves and suggested that other Wall Street institutions should follow suit, especially those receiving federal bailout money.

In his letter to Liddy, Cuomo also said he would find it "hard to imagine that AIG could pay significant bonuses or give raises to its executives after the company has quite literally been bailed out by the American taxpayer."

"We believe top executives should shoulder their fair share of these difficult economic times," the letter said.

An AIG spokesman, Joe Norton, said the company plans to respond to the letter, but wouldn't say what that response would be.

The company has yet to announce its plans for end-of-year bonuses and pay raises.

Cuomo's office has been pushing hard in recent weeks on the issue of executive pay, asking several companies to turn over information about bonuses that they've paid in the past, or plan to pay in the future.

Comments

[psch]

What's scary about this is that they have to be asked about the "plans". How in tune are they with public sentiment? Not at all, otherwise they would not have to be asked for this information. Or maybe they are just not smart enough and don't have any plans...that's even scarier!

[wingnutz]

Secrecy abounds. check it out:

http://bailoutsleuth.com/cgi-bin/m/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&tag=transparency&limit=20

Why, exactly, aren't we allowed to know where and to whom our money is going?

[vippy]

Paulson was chosen by Bush for this very reason - the looting of the US Treasury. A red flag was
raised when they (Paulson) asked for this bailout without oversight. Well, he got what he wanted.
Another red flag was when they did not want to disclose what happened to the 2 trillion dollars?
Another red flag was raised when Bush blocked the FBI from investigating the housing mess.
You know what, if that is not enough for our eyes to be opened then I have no clue and I doubt the US
will ever again be a forward country. I mean how dumb can we be?

[WIpatriot]

Anybody thinking about opening a business to make red flags??

[OB-GYN]

Amazing that an AG has to do the work that was Paulson's job.

Fire Paulson!

[strangerinthenight]

Going to work is specially hard these days, entering your office and seeing your co-workers, at least those that were not let go, heads down, and a heavy wet blanket on their shoulders. We have been stripped not only pride of working for this company, but for those employees with tenure and hard earned 401K, their lifetime savings obliterated before their very eyes.

Perhaps for me, at 26, I can start fresh. Luckily, with a college degree and transferrable skills, I can shift through these torbulent times.

All because the top tier failed to be a good stewards. Still, there are among us, the support bees, and its core employees believe AIG once stood on top of that mountain and will be again. Less that top tier.

Yes, I favor their prosecutions, and stripped them of their ill gotten assets. Thieves should be put in jail.

[Biofriendlyblog]

Good for you and yes, that does suck for the people lower down the totem pole! More power to you!
What amazes me, is how is it that AIG can be bailed out, have its key execs go on an executive retreat, get more bail out money, spend more of it without regard for the American taxpayer and yet the American Auto Worker Industry (who by no means don't have their own situations, obviously) is being left to flounder and potentially wreak havoc on an already tough economy?
With all the bailout money AIG received, isn't someone monitoring how they are spending it?

[IllinoisTexan43]

Like it friggin matters. The American taxpayers got hosed. What we're seeing now is people covering their collective a$$es.

[ErnestineBass]

Face it, Paulson is a thief.

[WIpatriot]

A thief among thieves, EB.

[tomas0808]

Yes, and let everyone know. No more parachutes

[Stretchumall]

Thats right! Let them Splat! All over wall st..

Stretchumall