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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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House Hits High Bonuses at Strapped Companies

Fat cats to face executive pay hearing

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(Newser) – A House committee wants to know why the CEOs of three companies mired in the subprime crisis collected massive bonuses as their firms bled billions, AP reports. The targets include Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Countrywide, all of which posted stunning losses last year. Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo and the former CEOS of Merrill and Citigroup, Stanley O'Neal and Charles Prince, will be on the hot seat. O'Neal and Prince were fired, but pocketed hefty payouts on the way out.

Henry Waxman's committee has been probing the issue of executive pay levels for months—some say outside its legal authority. The committee's top Republican questioned the need for the hearing. "A sanctimonious search for scapegoats may feel good, but it benefits no one," he said. "It's always easy to blame people with a lot of money."

Angelo Mozilo, Chairman and CEO, Countrywide Financial Corp. speaks during a panel discussion on the subprime market fallout Monday, Oct. 29, 2007, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Mozilo is to face a House committee today investigating executive pay levels for executives whose companies lost billions in the subprime crisis. (AP Photo/Ric...
Angelo Mozilo, Chairman and CEO, Countrywide Financial Corp. speaks during a panel discussion on the subprime market fallout Monday, Oct. 29, 2007, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Mozilo is to face a House committee...   (Associated Press)
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will be questioning the current or former bosses of three companies implicated in the subprime crisis about the hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses they received while their firms were suffering billions in writedowns.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will be questioning the current or former bosses of three companies implicated in the subprime crisis about the hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses...   ((c) sunshinecity)
Stanley O'Neal, Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co., is seen in New York in this Nov. 1, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, file)
Stanley O'Neal, Chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co., is seen in New York in this Nov. 1, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, file)   (Associated Press)
Citigroup CEO and chairman Charles Prince pauses before speaking during the 'Town Hall Meeting' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in this Jan. 26, 2005 file photo. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
Citigroup CEO and chairman Charles Prince pauses before speaking during the 'Town Hall Meeting' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in this Jan. 26, 2005 file photo. (AP Photo/Virginia...   (Associated Press)
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., questions witnesses during a hearing of the committee on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Feb. 26, 2008 file photo. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., questions witnesses during a hearing of the committee on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Feb. 26, 2008 file photo....   (Associated Press)
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