TIMES ONLINE: President Obama expressed outrage today over hefty bonus payments awarded to executives from the stricken insurance giant AIG and said that he had directed his Treasury Secretary to take all legal measures to block them.
The insurer received some $173 billion in government bailout money and is now paying $165 million in employee bonuses, prompting a storm of political protest that has echoes of the row in Britain over Sir Fred Goodwin's pension from RBS[.]
“This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed,” Mr Obama said of AIG in remarks at the White House.
“Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?”
Mr Obama said he had asked Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, to use the leverage the government had to pursue “every legal avenue” to push back against the bonus payments. >>> Philippe Naughton and Christine Seib in New York | Monday, March 16, 2009
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