Banking - some things never change?

[Atlanteax]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/15/news/companies/goldman.profit.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009101511


The big investment bank posted a $3.2 billion quarterly profit Thursday, crushing Wall Street estimates for the third straight quarter.


The giant quarterly gain allowed Goldman to set aside $5.4 billion for employee compensation -- bringing its bonus pool to $16.7 billion through Sept. 30.


The money Goldman set aside for compensation through the first nine months of the year works out to an average of $526,814 for each of its 31,700 workers.


That's in line with the firm's payout in the record profit year of 2007, which closed before the global recession started in earnest.


Goldman has paid back the $10 billion in bailout funds it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). But it was among the biggest recipients of taxpayer funds in last September's rescue of AIG

[Celephais]

Sounds to me like the government just needs to start it's own investment firm.

[LMingrone]

What a joke. (I typed more, then deleted it so I didn't seem like a crazy.)

[Bobmuhthol]

The government gets risk-free profit by taxing Goldman's profit. As far as giving out these bonuses, it's not like they're doing it on credit. High bonuses are 100% a function of good results. Would you still have a problem if the bonuses were given out as dividends instead?

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

Yeah, I have problems finding fault with them on this. They paid the 10 billion back. AIG bailout aside, any company should be able to compensate their employee's how they want. I think it's their shareholders that should be holding them accountable, certainly not the government if they've fulfilled their debts.

The "average" compensation of half a mill makes me laugh though. I'm fairly sure that it is a top heavy comp program in that the higher ups are getting the lions share of that.

Put the ownership where it belongs, with the owners of the company.

[NocturnalRob]

Would you still have a problem if the bonuses were given out as dividends instead?
Yes. I don't own any GS stock.

[Androidpk]

I want to get a job there.

[Deathravin]

The government gets risk-free profit by taxing Goldman's profit. As far as giving out these bonuses, it's not like they're doing it on credit. High bonuses are 100% a function of good results. Would you still have a problem if the bonuses were given out as dividends instead?

Goldman is running a profit? Shocking since the government let its biggest competitor die... wonder who made that decision... Oh, that's right Goldman's former CEO - crazy how things sort of work out.

[Bobmuhthol]

I don't get it.

[Daniel]

Sounds to me like the government just needs to start it's own investment firm.

Actually, the US Government is way behind the curve on this. Probably because it would be called something like socialism or some other nonsense.

[TheEschaton]

If it makes y'all feel better, BoA posted a 2.2 billion loss today.

[Kranar]

The government gets risk-free profit by taxing Goldman's profit. As far as giving out these bonuses, it's not like they're doing it on credit. High bonuses are 100% a function of good results. Would you still have a problem if the bonuses were given out as dividends instead?


I have a problem with rewarding bonuses on a yearly basis when the consequences of a group of people's actions may take more than a year to evaluate, and when those consequences may result in long term devastation but are rewarded immensely based on short term gains.

The fact that decisions made now may have long term devastating consequences despite short benefits means that corporations need to be giving out less bonuses, and start saving that money for a rainy day. Had this practice been employed over the past 10 years, the tax payers would not have been shocked and scared into bailing out these banks.

There's nothing to suggest that in another 5 or 10 years another financial crisis won't strike the U.S., and then all the profit that was made during that 5 and 10 year period will be wiped out, another bailout will be called upon, and yet none of the bonus money that was paid out over that 5 to 10 year period will ever have to be paid back.

That's the problem with these excessive bonuses, you think that it isn't being paid out on credit, but you don't know that, and there's no way for you to know that right now.

[Parkbandit]

If it makes y'all feel better, BoA posted a 2.2 billion loss today.

:rofl:

Winner.

Now all we need is Exxon Mobil to have a bad year and we can have a party.

[Gan]

Yes. I don't own any GS stock.

Bingo.

[Sean of the Thread]

I have a $5 balance at a credit union does that count?