At Citibank, the rush to repay TARP money stems partly from concerns about ongoing government restrictions, including caps on pay packages for executives at the nation’s largest bailout firms. On Friday, White House “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg capped base salaries for 75 Citigroup executives at $500,000 for the remaining three weeks of 2009. Those changes were expected to serve as the model for their pay next year as well. But, by paying back the bailout, Citigroup will no longer be required to submit pay packages for its executives to the government for approval.
Talk bout burying the lede! I was wondering if CNN was ever going to get to the actual story here. They did, at the end of the piece. Why did Wells, Citi, and BoA all get religion and pay back their TARP money within a week of each other?
If anyone mistook the banking industry’s moves as anything remotely positive, this should clear things up.
Wells Fargo to repay $25 billion government bailout - Dec. 14, 2009
