Most Americans may not know who John Thain is but what he did to tax payers and the Bank of America should be criminal. He got the compensation committee of Merrill Lynch to pay out $3 to 4 billion in bonuses a month ahead of the scheduled time right before Bank Of America closed a deal to buy the company. Merrill Lynch was one of the financial companies that was close to failing before the bail out program was started in the fall.
The Financial Times reports today that in early December, Merrill, which months earlier had agreed to be bought — rescued, really — by Bank of America, decided to pay out $3-4 billions in bonuses.
The bonuses were handed out on an accelerated schedule — at least a month earlier than in previous years. And they ere agreed to just days before Bank of America, realizing how much in toxic assets Merrill had on its books, went to the federal government asking for more taxpayer money to help it digest Merrill — money that was eventually forthcoming.
One equity analyst told MarketWatch that the move, apparently initiated by then-Merrill CEO John Thain, was “simply outrageous and one of the more extreme examples of poor corporate governance we can think of.”
Merrill Paid Billions In Bonuses, As New Owner Sought More Bailout Dollars
Once again….. [*sigh*]