Thinkprogress:
In November, Big Three automaker CEOs were ridiculed by Congress for taking private jets to Washington to plea for a federal bailout. Subsequently, the CEOs quickly curbed their jet travel.
Wall Street execs seem not to have learned the lesson. In a House Financial Services Committee hearing yesterday, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) asked bailed-out bank CEOs if their companies still “own or lease” private planes. Only one (Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankenfein) out of eight did not raise his hand:
SHERMAN: I’d like you to raise your hand if your company currently owns or leases a private plane. Let the record reflect that all the hands went up except the gentleman from Goldman Sachs. Gentleman, we know that it’s extremely expensive to operate the planes. You could sell them and generate capital for your company, and that capital could be used to repay taxpayers immediately.
“The big show of not buying one particular new plane flies in the face of how you are really flying,” Sherman scolded the CEOs, likely referring to Citigroup’s recently scrapped plans to take a $50 million corporate jet.
Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) asked the CEOs if they planned on retaining the following salaries in 2009. All indicated that they would. Notably, Citigroup’s Vikram Pandit said that he would keep a $1 per year salary until his bank became profitable again:
Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf: $850,000
Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit: $1
Morgan Stanely CEO John Mack: $800,000
State Street Corp. CEO Ronald Logue: $1 million
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis: $1.5 million
Bank of New York CEO Robert Kelly: $1 million
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon: $1 million
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankenfein: $600,000
Wells Fargo’s Stumpf had some trouble remembering his salary. “My compensation in 2008, I’m embarrassed, I think it was 850 — I can’t remember the exact number. Let’s say $850,000,” he said.
Also, this:
All of the bank executives agreed to detail their use of TARP funds in writing. A few took the opportunity during their opening remarks to announce that they were releasing public reports on their spending. (Citigroup's is here; Bank of America's is here.).
I notice that Citi's public report of their use of TARP funds was Feb. 3.
2 comments:
If these Wall Street people can't learn, then maybe they need some ice in their pants and have their heads banged against hot plates.
Oh Mr. Kitty your so bad.
Now the CEO's will learn when people start pulling their money out of those banks. Remember Mr. Kitty every bank started up small and grew to the size it is now. I remember E F Hutton yet their gone. Many will fall and new banks will raise up. A smart bank would work with the people to draw in customers and with a big size make money.
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