http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/30/news/companies/bonuses_tarp/index.htm
And where did they get the money from? You and your children's children my taxpaying friends.
You saved their lifestyle on the perils of your own.
Citi and Merrill Lynch paid big bonuses despite losing money last year while fellow TARP recipients Goldman and JPMorgan paid more than they earned.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Even as top banks delivered abysmal performances last year, they still managed to pay out billions of dollars in bonuses to employees, according to a study published Thursday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
In an analysis of compensation practices of the original nine banks that received money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, most financial firms paid out compensation that was nowhere close to their overall yearly performance.
Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), for example, which suffered more than $27 billion worth of losses in 2008, paid an estimated $5.33 billion worth of bonuses last year, according to Cuomo's report. Citigroup has been one of the biggest recipients of government aid, taking in $45 billion in TARP funds. Taxpayers now own a third of the bank.
Several banks that were profitable last year paid out bonuses that were substantially higher than what they earned. Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), which has come under significant scrutiny recently over this year's bonus pool, paid out some $4.8 billion in bonuses despite earning just $2.3 billion. The company collected $10 billion under the TARP program but has since paid it back.
