Trader's $400M Loss Behind Merrill's London 'Irregularity'

Spendthrift John Thain gets hands on new troubled company

(NEWSER) - The CEO who spent $1.2 million renovating his office and arranged $3.6 billion in executive bonuses while his company, Merrill Lynch, was circling the toilet bowl, has just been named CEO of CIT Group. John Thain rises to the top of a public company again a year after he was jettisoned by Bank of America after it acquired Merrill Lynch. Thain inherits a firm struggling since former Merrill colleague and ex-CEO Jeffrey Peek immersed the company in subprime mortage lending before its bankruptcy. More»

FBI, Justice Department investigate timing of bonus payments: source

(NEWSER) - Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch is the focus of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and Justice Department, sources tell the Charlotte Observer, the bank's hometown paper. The SEC and the AGs of New York and North Carolina have already launched civil probes of the timing of huge bonuses paid to Merrill execs shortly before the deal closed; the feds' involvement indicates that criminal charges may also be in play. More»

Former Merrill Lynch CEO denies accelerating bonuses

(NEWSER) - Merrill Lynch's former CEO issued an apology of sorts for spending $1.2 million—including $35,000 for a commode—to redecorate his office as the firm bottomed out, Bloomberg reports. “We decorated it in the style that Merrill Lynch offices were, which was very, very nice,” John Thain said at Wharton. “That was a mistake, and I'm sorry." The punchline, delivered to laughter: "If I had that to do over again, I’d furnish it in Ikea.” More»

(NEWSER) - The judge who has refused to sign off on Bank of America's settlement with the SEC over $3.6 billion in bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch delivered a stinging rebuke to both parties in a hearing yesterday, the New York Times reports. The firms "effectively lied to their shareholders" over the pre-merger bonuses, and the SEC's proposed $33 million settlement seems "strangely askew," said Judge Jed Rakoff. More»

Firms paid more than they made: Cuomo

(NEWSER) - The financial crisis and government bailouts did little to change Wall Street’s executive compensation habits, New York's attorney general says. All nine banks given assistance by TARP paid out bonuses in 2008—well before any paid back government loans, according to a survey ordered by Andrew Cuomo. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase actually paid more in bonuses than the firms made for the year, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»