How long before the yelling and screaming out of Congress?: The NY Post says that Bank of America has been making millions in bonus payouts (or whatever you want to call them) to retain talent that they’d otherwise lose to the likes of deep pocketed foreign banks who are increasingly willing to pony up:
Among those who are said to have received payouts are two former Merrill Lynch bankers, Fares Noujaim, who was recently appointed as BofA’s vice chairman of investment banking, and Harry McMahon, a well-connected West Coast-based banker. Both were offered guarantees not to leave the firm…..
A BofA spokeswoman argued that paying talented employees top dollar to stay is necessary because rival firms are poaching its best execs at an alarming rate.
“Competitive recruiting in investment banking and capital markets continues to be very intense and we’re taking the steps necessary to retain key talent in response to competitive pressures,” said spokeswoman Jessica Oppenheim.
She added, “Any reference to [a] specific associate’s compensation in this story is inaccurate.”
Bailout Bonus at BofA – NY Post
Tags: Bank of America, Bonuses, Investment bankers, Ken Lewis, Merrill Lynch, Politics, TARP, U.S. Treasury
