For years, the firm (AIG) carved out a reputation as an innovative force envied and emulated on Wall Street. It made billions of dollars in the complex world of financial derivatives. But in 1998, executives approved a break from the firm's cautious past. So far, the government has poured more than $60 billion into the effort of trying to save the company. AIG staffing numbers have fallen to 370 from 450, and the firm plans to close its Tokyo and Hong Kong operations this year. If their are any more downgrades in AIG's credit rating, a slip of that magnitude could trigger a new round of collateral calls from counterparties and sink the parent company (AIG) deeper into debt. In situations like these the employees who remain at the helm are literally working themselves out of a job. As each set of business falls away due to losses, so do the people working on the problems.
Still, employees who stick around are eligible for hundreds of millions of dollars in retention payments -- half next month and the rest in March 2010 -- a practice that has enraged some members of Congress and further stoked public anger. Executives say the payments are justified because few people possess the expertise to handle the mind-bending transactions at AIG.
QUOTE:
"I'm saying that the moral climate within the ruling class in this country is not that different from the moral climate within the ruling class of Hitler's Germany." - David Clennon, star of the CBS series "The Agency"
1 comment:
It's easier for them to go through the eye of a needle then it is for them to not abuse taxpayer money.
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