Wall Street Waiting on Goldman CEO's Bonus

By: Alex Sundby
Topics: In The News

(AP Photo/David Karp)

While Wall Street's critics might refer to the stock market's financial dealings as a complex numbers game, right now Street watchers are focused on one number: the Gag Number.

That's what a "public relations specialist" referred to as the number Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein (pictured at left) would receive for his annual bonus without sparking a line of bonus-bashing speeches from lawmakers in Washington, according to a report in The New York Times Thursday.

While many banks have recently disclosed bonuses for their top executives, Goldman has taken its time in announcing Blankfein's bonus, the paper notes.

Goldman took money from the federal government's bank bailout in 2008, but the bank has since paid back the money with interest and recorded record profits.

The delay has caused many to speculate about how much Blankfein will receive such as a report in The Times of London that his bonus will be $100 million, a startling increase from the $68 million bonus he received for 2007. Blankfein didn't accept a bonus for 2008.

A Goldman spokesman dismissed the London newspaper's report.

"There is speculation, and then there is stupidity," said the spokesman, Lucas van Praag, told the NYT. "This speculation transcends the simply stupid and takes it to an entirely new level."

The newspaper notes that whatever Blankfein receives it will be the benchmark by which other banks set their bonuses. JPMorgan Chase has yet to announce how much CEO Jamie Dimon will receive for his bonus, which is expected to range between $15 million and $20 million.

Alex Sundby
Alex Sundby is an associate news editor for CBSNews.com

16 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment

See all 16 Comments


by cbsblogger February 4, 2010 2:24 PM EST: He should get nothing. Instead he should be forced to give back all the illgotten bonuses that he received in the last 7 years.; Reply to this comment


by cbsblogger February 4, 2010 2:23 PM EST: He should get nothing. In fact he should give back the bonuses that were received as ill gotten in prior years.; Reply to this comment


by webdepot February 4, 2010 2:19 PM EST: You're not going to find change as long as the corporate pets that is the Republican party still has members in Congress.. Just look what the Republican appointed supreme court just did.. allowed corporations to buy the elections... so they can put more corporate pets in Congress.. and f#!k up the country even more than it already is..; Reply to this comment


by weewillywonka February 4, 2010 1:27 PM EST: If a single individual can receive a multi-million dollar bonus - that company is over-charging for their services; Reply to this comment


by global_eye February 4, 2010 1:25 PM EST: No longer will the people put up with this blasphemy. People everywhere will soon be inspired to call for massive change, to end the injustice and crime of poverty and starvation of millions in a world of plenty.

There is more than enough to go around, it just needs to be more equally distributed.

Maitreya, an extraordinary man with an equally extraordinary mission, is emerging right now into the everyday world. Look for someone who speaks about the need for justice, for sharing, for a better world.

www.share-international.org; Reply to this comment


by Haiku360 February 4, 2010 1:18 PM EST: Goldman, Tax - A Haiku

http://haikme.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/bonus-bone-us/; Reply to this comment


by Berkeley-SkirtLifter February 4, 2010 1:12 PM EST: by rightbehind February 4, 2010 9:54 AM EST
Restore the Glass Steagall Act!
_____________
Yes!
And repeal the exemption created in the last day of the lame duck congress of 2000.

This exemption is a license to steal given ONLY to Wall Street financiers. See, a CDS or Credit Default Swap is an insurance policy on something you don't own.

It's against the law for you draw up a home owners insurance policy on your neighbor's house, then burn it down and collect. It's illegal for you to buy a life insurance policy on a stranger. There are good reasons for these restrictions as people would be dropping dead and others would be getting rich on filing claims. Can you imagine? Secretly take out a life insurance policy on an entire family, then poison their water supply?

This is what a CDS is!!!!!!!

A Credit Default Swap allows someone with a Wall Street Exemption to enter into the murky world of buying insurance on ANY transaction they choose.

A Collateralized Debt Obligation, or CDO, is a bunch of separate mortgages that are combined into one big security (a "financial instrument" -love that term-), then sold in pieces. The idea is that if a few mortgages fail within a CDO, it's no big deal. There are literally hundreds of mortgages in a CDO, and the CDO as a whole, will not fail.

Now here is what the crooks on Wall Street did:

Hundreds of subprime and alt-a mortgage loans were packaged along with 30 year fixed prime loans into "Mortgage Backed Securities" or CDO's. These were rated as AAA financial products by Moody's and other rating agencies, then sold to municipalities, pension funds, and other investors seeking LOW risk, low yield returns on investment.

Now the crooks assembling CDO's and other "derivative based" financial instruments knew these AAA rated "securities" were going to fail. So in 2000, they lobbied congress to pass an exemption allowing them to take out insurance policies on stuff they didn't own...kinda like you taking an insurance policy on your neighbor's home, and you KNOW his house will burn down next month, because you already hired a guy to burn it down!

That's what CDS are. Insurance on securities. When the security fails, you collect. AIG was way into CDS, the multi-trillion dollar SCAM.

Here's the kicker: Wall Street STILL has the exemption. Glass-Steagall is STILL NOT re-enacted.

Commercial Banks can behave like Investment Banks...just like before the bubble. Economists gripe that "Banks aren't lending." Why should commercial banks lend when they can "leverage up" like an investment house?

The entire charade is happening all over again. Blankfein will receive a huge bonus as GS continues to glom billions of dollars from the economy.

We need a more educated public. The public has to have some basic understanding of the fiduciary fraud occurring in the financial arena.

Restore Glass-Steagall
End the wall street exemption on CDS and other derivatives.
Separate commercial banks from investment banks.
Revamp Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae.
Stop federal bailouts of failed businesses.
Stimulus dollars should go straight to the tax payer, not higher up the food chain.

So many things need to change. Are we going to find the will to fix this mess? Who knows?; Reply to this comment


by taxpayingvoter February 4, 2010 1:04 PM EST: the only problem with these message boards is that the people that cause all of the problems do not read them. They do not care what people think of them, they just go home at night and count their millions. If we are ever going to stop this we need to take a page out of the history of the french revolution. It is time to go Chop-Chop. If 10% of the p[opulace has 90% of the money then that leaves about 300 million mad, hungry and cheated tax paying voters. I think we can take them. Lets try anyway, give them a real run for their money.; Reply to this comment