Fury at $2.5bn bonus for Lehman's New York staff

Time Online ^ | September 21, 2008 | John Waples and Danny Fortson

[Tulsa Ramjet]

STAFF at Lehman’s New York office who helped to cause the world’s biggest corporate bankruptcy are to share in a $2.5 billion bonanza.

The bonus, which has been described by London staff as a “scandal” has been pledged by Barclays Capital, the British-based bank that last week acquired Lehman’s American operation and took on 10,000 staff.

The $2.5 billion (£1.4 billion) pot, which has been ring-fenced as part of the acquisition, has caused huge resentment among the 5,000 staff in the firm’s European and Middle Eastern operations who are not guaranteed to be paid after this month. There are, however, hopes that half the jobs in Lehman’s Canary Wharf office could be saved today by either Barclays or Nomura. Bids are being submitted for its UK equities and investment-banking business.

[dfwgator]

Perhaps financial terrorism should be a recognized crime and these execs, no matter their positions, be executed for their economic crimes and for being grossly immoral, greedy bass-scats.

Sounds like something they would do in the USSR.

The ChiComs do it all the time.

[Prokopton]

Sounds like something they would do in the USSR.

IIRC, Didn't the government have their hands in banking, finance, and private business over there too? At least they had a swift way to deal with the scum. Over here they just get golden parachutes and get right back into their sleazy game.

[wtc911]

Lehman’s moved all funds in London back to the US before filing leaving its EU employees no way of getting paid. The Brits are a but pissed off at this.

[ctdonath2]

Problem is, a bunch of banks folded in just a few days, with some bailed out, some bought out, and some bankrupt - enough detail that the general public views it as all part of that $700B taxpayer-funded spendfest. Ergo, the visceral resentment of the reported $2.5B bonuses - proximity is enough that taxpayers can’t really tell whether it’s coming out of their pockets.

[WayneS]

Put them ALL on the GS Schedule.

If MY taxpayer $$ pay their salaries, the LEAST they can do is be paid like Federal employees.

[WayneS]

Oh, that’s right! My bad!

Please ignore my previous post.

[WOBBLY BOB]

once all that’s done, treat them like the Chinese did to the head of their version of the FDA for taking bribes.

[Thumper1960]

So, then you approve of the malfeasance of some of these Wall Street fat-cats.

Thanks for revealing your position. It's illuminating.

[Thumper1960]

I see there's another apologist for the incompetent financial class. I suppose former top execs at Lehman, et al, should get platinum parachutes. Why stop at gold.

Gross negligence rewarded.

Some "conservative" position. Hah! Personal responsibility and competent business practices are dead. Long live sloth and usury.

[Arguendo]

Nice dichotomy you present there: either I support inventing a crime--"financial terrorism"--and executing Wall Street execs for it, ex post facto, after show trials, or I support "malfeasance" (you'd better look up that word).

I'm glad to see your brain works in binary.

[Arguendo]

By the way, what exactly did execs do at Lehman that was illegal? Who was responsible for what? Do you even know what brought the company down?

[Thumper1960]

I'm sure you'll make a wonderful leech...er, lawyer. Already an apologist for the unbridled greed is good cult. Stock manipulation and fraud. Short selling and counterfeit stocks. Where are the MSM investigations? Where are the Congressional hearings, the SEC oversight? The outrage over a relatively few thieves in select places making a killing and slowly slaughtering the nation's economy?

I sense your stand and where your sympathies lie. Maybe ole Soros can make room on his legal staff for your kind. I believe you'd fit right in.

[Arguendo]

Stock manipulation and fraud. Short selling and counterfeit stocks.

Who's guilty of stock manipulation and short selling? Surely not the Lehman execs you're ready to hang--their company was a victim of it. Counterfeit stocks? What does that even mean?

[Arguendo]

BTW, where on earth did you get the idea short selling was a crime? It’s an essential part of a well functioning market, and while it might be appropriate to curb in extreme circumstances, no one who knows anything about securities markets would permanently ban it.

[Thumper1960]

Naked short selling is also called fraud. Hedge funds, largely unregulated, do this systemically. Hedge fund valued at $2 trillion, no less. Look it up.

[Arguendo]

I'm well aware of what naked short selling is, and I know that some hedge funds do it. However, nowhere near all hedge funds do, and I would be interested in seeing any evidence you have that hedge funds worth "$2 trillion" do (since there is no single hedge fund worth close to that).

But this is just an aside, since you wanted to see Lehman's executives hang. What crimes did they commit?