The Advisors' Blog

– Broc Romanek, CompensationStandards.com

Yesterday, House Oversight and Investigations Committee Chairman Henry Waxman sent letters to nine Wall Street firms requesting compensation and bonus information (here are the letters). The concern is that government bailout money will be used to pay bonuses. In addition, Senator Carl Levin has sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson inquiring into these bonuses.

Here is a disturbing excerpt from an article in today’s Washington Post:

But a new study suggests that financiers are still bullish about their bonuses. More than two-thirds of Wall Street professionals are expecting a bonus this year, and 36 percent are anticipating a larger bonus than last year, according to a survey by eFinancialCareers, a career networking company.

The idea of taxpayers funding the bonus pools of Wall Street won’t play well across the land – and likely will bolster the chances of new legislation being adopted to curb excessive pay packages early in the new Administration. I would say it’s hard to believe that Wall Street could be so ignorant to not expect a backlash – but then again, it’s Wall Street that got us into the mess we are in to begin with. Here is a related Bloomberg article (and this older article) and an Associated Press article.