Wall Street Pay Packages Break New Record

Thursday, February 03, 2011
Zachary Roth, Yahoo News
Submitted by: Editor

Less than two years after the massive government bailout (TARP), total Wall Street compensation hit a new record of $135 billion, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The rise is in part the result of increased revenue, which spiked to a record high of $417 billion.

[Yahoo] After the American public expressed outrage over lavish rewards at Goldman Sachs, AIG and many other banking firms that caused the 2008 financial crash, Congress responded two years later by putting a handful of restrictions on Wall Street's ability to pay bonuses. The banking sector simply increased the size of base salaries to circumvent the new restrictions.

The average Wall Streeter is now paid $141,000 -- up 3 percent from last year.

And, despite the new restrictions, the banking giants don't seem any worse for wear. For example, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan saw a 67 percent rise in his total compensation last year.

The vast majority of Americans, who have not lost their jobs, have seen their base salaries contract, rather than expand.

Give Congress a hand, won't you?

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Posted by Editor on 02/03/11 at 04:04 PM • (0) Comments

Tags: banking, wall street, tarp, goldman sachs, bonuses, aig,