US Lawmakers Pull Few Punches With Bank Executives
Reuters接受联邦政府救助的各大银行的首席执行长周三在众议院金融服务委员会作证八家银行和证券公司的首席执行长受到了美国国会议员的猛烈抨击，他们对这些金融业大佬们为打消在薪酬和贷款问题上的不满而对自己展开的魅力攻势没有表现出多少耐心。这八家银行共接受了1,650亿美元的联邦救助资金。周三在众议院金融服务委员会长达7小时的听证会上，加州民主党众议员沃塔斯(Maxine Waters)称这些按照字母顺序坐在长桌边的CEO们是“宇宙的主宰”。当美国银行(Bank of America Corp.)董事长兼首席执行长刘易斯(Kenneth Lewis)回应是“宇宙的小卒”时，沃塔斯面无表情地看着他。她问道，你提高了你的信用卡利率了吗？听证会上的这一幕凸显出大银行的CEO们已成为房价下跌失业率上升和衰退加剧引发的愤怒和痛苦的发泄对象。从高盛集团首席执行长布兰克费恩到富国银行首席执行长约翰•斯坦普，这八位CEO在评估问题资产救助计划(TARP)的听证会上受到了无情的质疑。根据提交的监管文件，在2006年和2007年，这八位CEO总计获得了4.01亿美元的薪酬。而他们所在公司的总市值自2007年10月份道琼斯工业股票平均价格指数触顶后已下跌了69%。众议院金融服务委员会主席弗兰克(Barney Frank)说，如果我们想要扭转目前对经济的消极看法，让信贷发放体系完全正常运转至关重要。委员会成员没有抑制他们对认为这些公司浪费政府救助资金的忿怒。花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)首席执行长潘伟迪(Vikram Pandit)对购买一架公司专用飞机的计划表示道歉。这个订单因奥巴马政府的压力而于上月取消。花旗集团接受了政府450亿美元的注资。2007年12月担任花旗集团CEO的潘伟迪还承诺领取1美元的年薪，直到公司重新实现盈利为止。花旗集团已连续5个季度亏损，其中第四季度净亏损83亿美元。摩根大通董事长兼首席执行长戴蒙预感到在薪酬和额外福利方面将面临尖锐的质询，他乘火车来到华盛顿，在柏悦酒店过夜。早餐时他遇到了纽约银行首席执行长凯利。布兰克费恩和摩根士丹利首席执行长麦晋桁乘坐的是商业航班，但布兰克费恩入住的是丽嘉酒店。潘伟迪则花了几个小时为听证会做准备。众议员卡普安诺(Michael Capuano)说，在购买了女童子军队员做的饼干并帮了特蕾莎修女后【译者注：即做尽善意姿态】，你们今天骑着自行车来到这里，跟我们说：对不起，我们不会再那样做了。但是，美国人民再也不信任你们了。在听证会更为实质性的阶段，八位CEO为美国经济描绘了暗淡的前景，预计从信用卡到房屋贷款等所有领域都将面临更大的困难，同时为长期以来银行业一直回避的行业改革敞开了大门。比如，刘易斯建议，美国银行可能会支持允许破产法官修改贷款条款的立法。刘易斯和潘伟迪同意，在奥巴马政府准备其防止止赎的计划期间，暂停三周对某些家庭的房屋止赎。摩根大通的戴蒙承认更糟糕的时期还没有到来，他说摩根大通拨出了100亿美元的准备金以应对信用卡业务可能带来的亏损。他说，这是开展业务要付出的代价之一。Kate Kelly / Damian Paletta相关阅读美国银行老板增持股票以鼓舞信心 2009-02-06通用电气首席执行长反对奥巴马的薪酬限制计划 2009-02-06 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月12日13:52', 'WFC'));富国银行英文名称：Wells Fargo & Co.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：WFCdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月12日13:52', 'JPM'));摩根大通公司英文名称：JPMorgan Chase & Co.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：JPMdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月12日13:52', 'GS'));高盛集团英文名称：Goldman Sachs Group Inc.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：GSdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月12日13:52', 'MS'));摩根士丹利英文名称：Morgan Stanley总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：MSdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月12日13:52', 'STT'));道富银行英文名称：State Street Corp.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：STTdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月12日13:52', 'BK'));纽约银行英文名称：Bank of New York Mellon Corp.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：BKdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月12日13:52', 'BAC'));美国银行英文名称：Bank of America Corp.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：BAC
Chief executives at eight banks and securities firms that have gotten $165 billion in federal aid were barraged by U.S. lawmakers, who showed little patience for a charm offensive aimed at defusing ire over pay and lending.During Wednesday's seven-hour hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) referred to the CEOs, sitting in alphabetical order at a long table, as 'captains of the universe.'When Bank of America Corp. Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lewis responded, 'corporals of the universe,' Rep. Waters looked at him blankly. 'Did you raise your credit-card rates？' she demanded.It was a typical moment in a hearing that underscored how big-bank CEOs have become lightning rods for the anger and misery fueled by falling home prices, rising unemployment and the deepening recession. From Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein to John Stumpf of Wells Fargo & Co., the eight executives endured relentless questions in a hearing meant to assess the Troubled Asset Relief Program.In 2006 and 2007, the eight executives got total compensation of $401 million, according to securities filings. The combined stock-market value of their companies has plunged 69% since the Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked in October 2007.'It is essential if we are to reverse the economic negativism that we now confront that we get the system of extending credit back to its fullest operation,' said House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.).Committee members did little to hide their ire about what they perceive as wasted aid from the government. Vikram Pandit, chief executive of Citigroup Inc., which got $45 billion in taxpayer-funded capital, apologized for plans by the New York bank to buy a corporate jet. The order was canceled last month under pressure from the Obama administration.Mr. Pandit, who became CEO at Citigroup in December 2007, also vowed to take $1 a year in salary until the company returns to profitability. Citigroup has posted five quarterly losses in a row, including a net loss of $8.3 billion in the fourth quarter.Anticipating tough questions about pay and perks, James Dimon, chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., took a train to Washington and stayed overnight at the Park Hyatt hotel. He bumped into Bank of New York Mellon Corp. CEO Robert Kelly at breakfast. Mr. Blankfein and John Mack, Morgan Stanley's chief executive, flew commercial flights, but Mr. Blankfein stayed at a Ritz-Carlton hotel. Mr. Pandit spent hours cramming for the hearing.'You come to us today on your bicycles, after buying Girl Scout cookies and helping out Mother Teresa, telling us: 'We're sorry. We won't do it again,'' said Rep. Michael Capuano (D., Mass.). 'America doesn't trust you anymore.'In the hearing's more substantive moments, the CEOs painted grim portraits of the U.S. economy, predicting more pain on everything from credit cards to home loans, while opening the door to overhauls the industry has long shunned. Mr. Lewis, for instance, suggested that Bank of America might support legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to alter the terms of loans. Messrs. Lewis and Pandit agreed to suspend certain home foreclosures for three weeks while the Obama administration readies its foreclosure-prevention plan.In an acknowledgment of more bad times to come, Mr. Dimon said J.P. Morgan has reserved $10 billion to cover expected losses from credit cards. 'That's part of the cost of doing business,' he said.Kate Kelly / Damian Paletta
Chief executives at eight banks and securities firms that have gotten $165 billion in federal aid were barraged by U.S. lawmakers, who showed little patience for a charm offensive aimed at defusing ire over pay and lending.During Wednesday's seven-hour hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) referred to the CEOs, sitting in alphabetical order at a long table, as 'captains of the universe.'When Bank of America Corp. Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lewis responded, 'corporals of the universe,' Rep. Waters looked at him blankly. 'Did you raise your credit-card rates？' she demanded.It was a typical moment in a hearing that underscored how big-bank CEOs have become lightning rods for the anger and misery fueled by falling home prices, rising unemployment and the deepening recession. From Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein to John Stumpf of Wells Fargo & Co., the eight executives endured relentless questions in a hearing meant to assess the Troubled Asset Relief Program.In 2006 and 2007, the eight executives got total compensation of $401 million, according to securities filings. The combined stock-market value of their companies has plunged 69% since the Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked in October 2007.'It is essential if we are to reverse the economic negativism that we now confront that we get the system of extending credit back to its fullest operation,' said House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D., Mass.).Committee members did little to hide their ire about what they perceive as wasted aid from the government. Vikram Pandit, chief executive of Citigroup Inc., which got $45 billion in taxpayer-funded capital, apologized for plans by the New York bank to buy a corporate jet. The order was canceled last month under pressure from the Obama administration.Mr. Pandit, who became CEO at Citigroup in December 2007, also vowed to take $1 a year in salary until the company returns to profitability. Citigroup has posted five quarterly losses in a row, including a net loss of $8.3 billion in the fourth quarter.Anticipating tough questions about pay and perks, James Dimon, chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., took a train to Washington and stayed overnight at the Park Hyatt hotel. He bumped into Bank of New York Mellon Corp. CEO Robert Kelly at breakfast. Mr. Blankfein and John Mack, Morgan Stanley's chief executive, flew commercial flights, but Mr. Blankfein stayed at a Ritz-Carlton hotel. Mr. Pandit spent hours cramming for the hearing.'You come to us today on your bicycles, after buying Girl Scout cookies and helping out Mother Teresa, telling us: 'We're sorry. We won't do it again,'' said Rep. Michael Capuano (D., Mass.). 'America doesn't trust you anymore.'In the hearing's more substantive moments, the CEOs painted grim portraits of the U.S. economy, predicting more pain on everything from credit cards to home loans, while opening the door to overhauls the industry has long shunned. Mr. Lewis, for instance, suggested that Bank of America might support legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to alter the terms of loans. Messrs. Lewis and Pandit agreed to suspend certain home foreclosures for three weeks while the Obama administration readies its foreclosure-prevention plan.In an acknowledgment of more bad times to come, Mr. Dimon said J.P. Morgan has reserved $10 billion to cover expected losses from credit cards. 'That's part of the cost of doing business,' he said.Kate Kelly / Damian Paletta