Wall Street Bonuses At Big Three Banks May Be Up 60% From Last Year

bloomberg.com:

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s investment bank, survivors of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, are set to pay record bonuses this year.

The firms -- the three biggest banks to exit the Troubled Asset Relief Program -- will hand out $29.7 billion in bonuses, according to analysts' estimates. That's up 60 percent from last year and more than the previous high of $26.8 billion in 2007. The money, split among 119,000 employees, equals $250,400 each, almost five times the $50,303 median household income in the U.S. last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Read the whole story: bloomberg.com

Comments

[PhilipTaylor]

THE SIX THINGS STEALING OUR DEMOCRACY AND TRUE CAP1TALISM (VAMP1RE BANKSTERS)

1. Our Corrupting V0TE Selling Campaign Funding System

2. The BANKSTER OWNED FED Reserve System manipulated by Foreign and Wall Street Banksters

3. Distorted TAX system - Go Back to 50 year Tradition= TOP TAX Rate of 63% to 94% on incomes over $550,000! Apply to Hedge Fundsters = NO MORE Capital Gains TAX!
Graph = http://pol.moveon.org/budget10/chart/?id=15734-8599887-MahjTHx&t=1

4. This CROP of Wall Street CR00KS CAN NOT BE REHAB1L1TATED, FAR T00 C0RRUPTED BY THE EASY SC_AM, and MUST GO! Same goes with Summers/Ge!thner!

5. Do away with any Product/De rivative/S wap that can NOT be put on an OPEN EXCHANGE because it is too complex. Do away with “TOO-COMPL EX-TO-EXIS T”

6. Use the added Revenue from #3 to build a NEW Manufacturing Economy that creates EXPORT WEALTH and SOLVES our ENERGY IMPORTATION from Our Enemies.

Overcome these SIX Problems and A Functional Democracy by the People and for the People will blossom.

[PhilipTaylor]

In ONE (1) Quarter they 10% of outstanding TARP Money is going into the POCKETS of Executives and Employees who caused this CRISIS!

OUTRAGEOUS!

[PhilipTaylor]

Reference to Diagram of Wall Street Ponzi SCHEME (diagram):

http://www.tavakolistructuredfinance.com/images/Ponzi.jpg

[BambooHarvester]

blankfiend ~ You Little F~ing Money Grubbing . . . !
~

[NeoconGal]

No we can't, no we can't.

[Democratt]

This more than anything else is why I don't trust Obama anymore.

The moment it became clear he wasn't going to fight to actually clean up the financial industry is the moment it became clear that the hope and change rhetoric was just that, rhetoric. All he cares about is keeping corporate money in dem hands, he doesn't dare anger his corporate sponsors.

good articles 4 slow news day: http://financeopinionss.blogspot.com

the system needs to be overhauled cuz nothing seems to change .

[DiogenesOfAlaska]

you (and many others) write:

'he doesn't dare anger his corporate sponsors.'

That's just nonsense. Look at the efforts of B. Frank and Ch. Dodd as well as the Fed.

They don't agree in detail - and in fact they are somewhat fighting each other, which is bad to the extent it is real and not made up by angry journalists - but they agree about the role of misguided compensation principles.

What's happening in this year-end bonus season is simply that bankers will try to grab anything they can for as long as it happens to be legal - due to the absence or delay of adequate legislation or taxation.

As simple as that.

Of course it's ugly. Who denied that? Not even the bankers do.

Their gamble is that they put at stake their credibility. Their actions demonstrate that they value their credibility at ZERO, because they act like they have none left to lose. Can you blame them? They are right: they don't have any credibility left to lose.

[Machiventa68]

There is no reason for any top executive at any big bank to be afraid of congress or the executive branch of government. All of the top banks are raking in huge profits and all the top executives are going to get huge bonuses and no one can do anything to stop it.

We, the public and the government, are powerless to stop what is going on. In 2008, the banks screamed "Wolf" and Paulsen, Bush, Cheney and everyone else in power went nuts and gave the banks billions to stay afloat. It was the biggest ripoff in the history of the United States. For the banks, it was the equivalent of finding money in the street. All they had to do was shout "We're tanking!" and our entire government caved in.

Once the banks showed them the way, the car manufacturers got aboard the gravy train and started screaming "Throw us some money. We're broke!" They got what they wanted, no questions asked.

[JISantiago]

Bonuses should be taxed 90%. This way the taxpayers will become the ultimate beneficiaries out of bank "robbers'" ill-gotten earnings.

[DiogenesOfAlaska]

And indeed, the jury concerning the tax-rate on those kinds of profits is still out.

[sonofsamphm1c]

Say somebody's salary is $25,000, and his yearend bonus is $150,000. You want to tax the poor guy $135,000 on his bonus?

There would be a mass exodus. People could make more money in Sweden.

[NHGranite]

Where are the teabaggers on this issue? Why aren't they getting buses and descending on Wall Street? Oh, yeah - that's who paid for their buses to DC. Must obey. Shiny object.

[niblik]

This reminds me of a number of Cheny interviews. He doesn't care what anyone else thinks if they don't agree with them. And empathy is a foriegn language as far as he is concerned.

The Banks got their handout and they're happy. As far as they are concerned, since the gravy is flowing again, there is nothing to worry about. That everyone else took a beating doesn't worry them; they simple don't care as long as it doesn't effect their profits.

Hitting them in their wallets is the only way to make them change. If you have an account at Chase, BoA, or any huge bank please shift your accounts to a Credit Union or a local bank.

[TeeLolly]

(Forgive me Ed Schultz, but I'm with Barney Frank on this one:) RAISE THEIR TAXES!

[booki]

the blame goes to our government.

[DiogenesOfAlaska]

Right. You can never blame a shark for being a shark.

But wait! Maybe you could blame a human for being a shark?

[sonofsamphm1c]

I've caught sharks; no shark has caught me.

[JPMac]

As for institutions still operating under the TARP program that needed the loans to stay aloft; I agree that employees need to be compensated fairly but that great deal of care has to be takedn to ensure the publics money is not being wasted.

The three banks named in the article Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan repaid the TARP program with interest on June 9th, June 17th and June 17th respectfully. They never wanted the money and were forced by the treasury and the Fed to take it. They paid it back with interest, A$425 million in interest from Goldman alone. At this point it is one's business execpt the shareholders of those companies what they pay their employees. All you who seem so concerned better watch the slippey slope you are walking on. Someday you may be working for an industry that is deemed to make to much money or start a business that turns out to be a smashing success and you'll have some unaccountable czar telling you what you can make.

[DiogenesOfAlaska]

Dear Mr. Slippery Slope,

Let me estimate roughly how many people have reason to be frightened by your slippery slope argument. And I mean, realistically frightened.

What would you say? Those who have reason to earn the salary of the POTUS at some point in their career? Or maybe only those who can hope for several times his salary?

I'd say we're talking about a few hundred thousand people, at most a million, and that includes just about every single buddy who can realistically dream of that.

Now you do the math, please.

[sonofsamphm1c]

All TARP recipients asked for TARP. Many of them did not need it. The Federal government did not force them to take it. They were given a choice: get a bailout for the financial industry and take a portion of TARP, or get no bailout of the financial industry.

The government took that stance to protect the taxpayer.

[SangZe]

Contact your elected officials? Are you joking? These are the guys who are shoveling bonuses down Wall Street. The only way to get change in this country now is to march forcefully into D.C.,pitch the entire lot out no matter their party affiliation, and start over again. The longer we wait, the worse things are going to get. Obama has yet to notice what everyone else seems to know: we're being screwed.

[inorbit]

How do I get one of these bank jobs?

I don't know anything about finance and would probably screw everything up -

Which would make me an ideal candidate!

[indy100]

Honestly you couldn't possibly do more to destroy the economy that these guys did. And you're right, that makes you (and me too!) a perfect candidate.

[sonofsamphm1c]

Inorbit sounds perfect for the job of systemic risk regulator.

[bigmacha]

It is NOT that these people are unentitled to their bonus'. What this actually is equals total tone deafness to the realities of today's world and business environment. Their fear of losing employees is largely unfounded since there are not many employers that could pay this well. A payout staged over a rolling 3 year period would largely avoid the problem.

Better yet, cutting the bonus and paying a large dividend to stockholders would be the most palatible.