Battered Merrill's Top 10 Pocketed $209M

(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»

Fired Merill CEO tries to 'set the record straight' about $3.6B payout

(NEWSER) - In his first lengthy interview since being pushed out as CEO of Merrill Lynch, John Thain tells the Wall Street Journal that Bank of America—which acquired Merrill in September—is lying about its involvement in the $3.6 billion in bonus payouts that made Thain the poster boy for corporate greed. “Getting fired is one thing,” Thain said. “But nobody has the right to say things that they know aren't true.” More»

Bank may have illegally misled investors over pre-takeover Merrill payouts

(NEWSER) - The SEC is looking into whether Bank of America violated federal law by failing to let investors know Merrill Lynch planned to pay its execs $3.62 billion in bonuses before it was taken over by BofA last year, the Financial Times reports. The regulator is reviewing the bank's disclosure to judge whether there was any dereliction. More»

Bank decided on bonuses earlier than claimed, he says

(NEWSER) - Andrew Cuomo is turning the screws a little tighter in his investigation of bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives. In a court filing today, the New York attorney general accused the bank of "misleading" Congress about when it decided to dole out $3.6 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. He cited a letter written Nov. 24 in which the company said any decision on bonuses would be made at the end of the year. In fact, the decision had been made two weeks earlier, he said. More»