AIG CEO Liddy: Chairman Bernanke And The Federal Reserve Approved Of Bonuses
AIG CEO Liddy: Chairman Bernanke And The Federal Reserve Approved Of Bonuses
Much of the discussion regarding the AIG bonus debacle is revolving around who in the government knew that the bonuses were coming and when they knew it.
During his appearance before Congress today, AIG CEO Edward Liddy said that the Federal Reserve was aware the bonuses would be paid out and “acquiesced in that decision.” In fact, Liddy claimed that Federal Reserve members were present at AIG’s “compensation committee meetings” with the ability to say “yea or nay”:
REP. KANJORSKI (D-PA): Am I to understand that you’re saying that Chairman Bernanke or his designated person at the Federal Reserve was informed that you were going to make these payments and acquiesced in that decision?
LIDDY: Yes, everything we do, we do in partnership with the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is at our board meetings and our compensation committee meetings, at our various meetings on strategy and they have the ability to weigh in — either yea or nay — on anything that we decide.
Watch it:
Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) later asked for clarification on whether the Fed “did not say nay as far as the bonuses were concerned.” Liddy replied that “there was great angst over the payment of these bonuses,” but that the Fed and AIG ultimately decided that “the risk was too great that we would lose all the progress we made if we didn’t pay these bonuses.”
In November 2008, Liddy penned a letter to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in which he claimed that the top 60 AIG executives “will forego any salary increase through 2009 and their 2008 and 2009 bonuses will be restricted.” During his opening statement today, Liddy asked the employees who received bonuses to give half the money back.
4 Responses to “AIG CEO Liddy: Chairman Bernanke And The Federal Reserve Approved Of Bonuses”
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The AIG (former?) employees who should get the bonuses are the actuaries who were penalized for insisting on underwriting flood insurance at NOAA-compatible rates.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:50 pmI voted for obama but what the congress is putting Liddy thru is shamelessand all for one buck a. If I were Liddy I would offer to resign and suggest someone from congresswho has all the answers (maybe Frank or Kanter)take a sabbatical and fix the problem.These genius’ could probably fix the problem in a week. then we could start hearings questioning congress members about perks,etc. I have’t seen any of them offering to take salary cuts. Very few americans can arbitarily raise their salaries and benefits
March 18th, 2009 at 6:33 pmThat’s nice. Meanwhile, Dodd’s finally admitted he put this protection of bonuses in at the insistance of Treasury and/or administration officials.
I guess we’re waiting on someone to think up a way of spinning that as another case of Republican hypocrisy.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:26 amMuch of the discussion regarding the AIG bonus debacle is revolving around who in the government knew that the bonuses were coming and when they knew it.
This was your opening for a post which thoroughly avoided any such questions.
Literally half of Memorandum is concerned with all manner of developments on that front and yet ThinkProgress can’t manage a single mention of it.
Why not just start writing Obama poetry and get it over with you shills.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:13 am