Hardball: timeline of AIG bonuses

I don’t know what happened to this post so I’m reposting it. It goes along with the AIG timeline (9/08 - 3/09) and Tim Geithner’s (3/10-15) - see below. For AIG before Sept 2008 see Paul Kiel at Pro Publica. He goes into the financial details.

March 20, 2009

Time line of bonuses per Hardball.

Sept 08: AIG revealed bonus plan in regulatory filings.

Sept 16: Fed saves AIG by pledging $85 billion

Oct 8: Fed pledges another $37.8 billion

Nov 08: US Treasury and Federal Reserve negotiated AIG’s retention payments and pledge a total of $150 billion

Present Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner was President of the NY Federal Reserve at the time. The fact that he denied knowing about them says he’s either a liar or totally inept. Time will tell if he’s both.

Dec 08: Reps. Kanjorski & Cummings complained about bonuses.

Congress knew.

Feb 09: Federal Reserve told Treasury about bonuses — Geithner opposed tax on bonuses,

Geithner knew.

March 10: Geithner learned “the full scale” of bonuses.

He got caught.

March 12: Geithner told barry advisor Axelrod. He said choosing to go ahead with the bonuses – 70 people received $1 million each or more — was “secondarily a legal consideration and primarily a risk consideration.”

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AIG Timeline
Hardball: timeline of bonuses
Tim Geithner’s AIG Timeline
AIG $165M bonuses after $170B bailout
AIG bonus breakdown
barry on AIG (video)
AIG: Edward Liddy (video)
Tim Geithner on Charlie Rose (video)
Andrew Cuomo: $30M of AIG bonuses will be returned
Andrew Cuomo’s letter to AIG (10-28-08)
Chris Dodd: 33% approval rating

Chris Dodd: 33% approval rating

April 8, 2009

Sen Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee was talking to Ed Schultz on MSNBC and they got around to the poll results.

Quinnipiac University Poll
March 26- 31
MOE +/- 2.9

Who do voters blame for AIG bonuses?
1-Bush
2-Dodd

Chris Dodd among CT voters:
Disapprove 58%
Approve 33%

Listen to how he asks the question. He goes out of his way not to use the word “lie”.

ED SCHULTZ: How much do you think that hurt you - reversal of your position, and also the way you changed, you know, your position on the bonuses as to who was responsible for how the bonuses were dished out?

DODD: It hurt terribly. I acknowledge that.

In February, I wrote up an 8 page amendment to deal with bonuses, golden parachutes and luxury items, and the like, to try and deal with these issues across the board - not one fact situations one after another.

And that was the right thing to do, and I still stand by it.

He should have stuck completely to it.

DODD: In February, if I had known then what I now know — no one brought up or had any idea that there were bonuses for AIG involved all of this - then we obviously would have taken a different position.

He’s chairman of the committee — who is he expecting to “bring things up”? And how is saying no one had any idea an excuse? Why didn’t “we” have an idea? That’s what created the problem. And how much doesn’t he still not know?

DODD: But, the administration came to me, along with some others, and said ‘Look this is going to create some real legal problems’. It made some sense, I thought, at the time. I now know that it was a mistake. I’d like to have that moment back.

Totally lame. Imagine what would have happened if they tried to sue - especially the 11 that weren’t even working for AIG when they got their “retention” bonuses.

ED: You were afraid of the legal aspect of all of this?

DODD: That’s what-those were the arguments raised to me. And as I said nobody brought up AIG at the time. And had they done so, and I had known we’d be confronting the problem here, I would have had a very different position.

Notice the two qualifiers…if somebody told him and if he had known he’d get caught - which goes along with word regret no I’m sorry.

DODD: I regret that deeply. It caused an awful lot of frustration and an awful lot of anger at me in my state. I understand it. I acknowledge it. And I’m gonna try to fix it.

There is no personal responsibility admitted to here and he came off like he always does - angry.

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AIG Timeline
Tim Geithner’s AIG Timeline
AIG $165M bonuses after $170B bailout
AIG bonus breakdown
barry on AIG (video)
AIG: Edward Liddy (video)
Tim Geithner on Charlie Rose (video)
Andrew Cuomo: $30M of AIG bonuses will be returned
Andrew Cuomo’s letter to AIG (10-28-08)
Chris Dodd: 33% approval rating

Andrew Cuomo letter to AIG

March 30, 2009

Found this interesting. NY States Attorney Andrew Cuomo set this letter to AIG on October 18, 2009. What are the chances the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank - Tim Geithner - didn’t know about it? What are the chances he didn’t get a copy from somewhere? It’s from the New York States Attorney. Why isn’t the press looking for internal memos?

And what are the chances that at least one of barry’s 2500 campaign operatives saw it? Congress had hearings.

Why isn’t the press going after him about this? Imagine if this were Hillary Clinton or John McCain or George Bush? And none of them every claims transparency! and change! and no old Washington! which is exactly what Chris Dodd and Geithner and barry did. And exactly what the press is doing.

Any wonder that one of the last polls showed htat only 7% of Americans believed barry had knowledge of the bonuses. Not only did the proobamedia get him elected they are continuing to underreport, misreport or flat out ignore the facts.

Where is the outrage against the press for not identifying the bonuses before they were handed out?

Click TOP RIGHT for full screen.

View this document on Scribd

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AIG Timeline
Tim Geithner’s AIG Timeline
AIG $165M bonuses after $170B bailout
AIG bonus breakdown
barry on AIG (video)
AIG: Edward Liddy (video)
Tim Geithner on Charlie Rose (video)
Andrew Cuomo: $30M of AIG bonuses will be returned

Tim Geithner’s AIG timeline

March 30, 2009

Timeline provided by the White House via LYNN SWEET:

TUESDAY (3-10)

Secretary Geithner finds out about impending bonuses

Even though he was president of NY Federal Reserve Bank prior to becoming Treasury Secretary. If I had the time and inclination I would go back and find some of his quotes from September and October. Same with barry and Biden.

WEDNESDAY (3-11)

After 6pm, Geithner calls Liddy to express outrage and says payments are unacceptable and Liddy need to go back and renegotiate.

Secretary Geithner and Treasury lawyers look for legal solutions to not paying the bonuses.

Liddy said the company had entered into the bonus agreements in early 2008 before AIG got into severe financial straits and was forced to obtain a government bailout. Who can possibly believe this? They claim the bonuses were “retention” incentives to keep the “best people: working for them and yet 11 of the people who got the bonuses have already left AIG - including to the top bonus getter $4.6M.

THURSDAY (3-12)

Secretary Geithner informs the White House. Later in the day, senior aides inform the President.

Secretary Geithner and Treasury lawyers continue looking for legal solutions to not paying the bonuses.

FRIDAY (3-13)

Secretary Geithner and Treasury lawyers continue looking for legal solutions to not paying the bonuses until the last possible legal moment.

Secretary Geithner speaks with Liddy again and after some back and forth, AIG agrees to:

• Cut bonuses in half and to stretch the exec bonuses (that fall outside our contract with them and our FSP rules) out overtime, so that execs are more on the hook for the successful wind down of the company, which is the best way to protect taxpayers
• [Rather than the Senior Partners (top approx. 50 people) getting an aggregate of $9.6M in bonus now, they will get 50% in cash now (avg. payment of approx. $112K), plus 25% on July 15 and 25% on September 15 (avg. payments of approx $56K each). However, both of the 25% payments will be contingent upon the Board finding that the steps in the disposition plan are being met at each payment date.]
• Renegotiate and reduce 2009 retention bonuses.
  Recoup the money in 30 billion AIG restructuring agreement

Following the conversation, Secretary Geithner asks for Liddy letter to codify the changes.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY (3-14 & 15)

Following deadline on Friday, treasury attorneys continue to look at legal solutions for recoupment.

SUNDAY EVENING (3-15)

POTUS asks the economic and legal team to continue looking for ways to recoup the bonuses.

barry in classic obamanator form gets involved after the bonuses were paid out on the 15th even though the WH confirmed he was notified on the 12th.

Folks, do you like having a president with no spine?

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AIG Timeline
Tim Geithner’s AIG Timeline
AIG $165M bonuses after $170B bailout
AIG bonus breakdown
barry on AIG (video)
AIG: Edward Liddy (video)
Tim Geithner on Charlie Rose (video)
Mario Cuomo: $30M of AIG bonuses will be returned

AIG timeline

March 20, 2009

barry was “stunned” but Geithner, ex-president of the NY Federals Reserve Bank was working on TARP before he even got near barry. How stupid do they think we are?

AIG received more than $170 billion, which puts the government - taxpayer’s - stake at about 80 percent. 9 out of the top 10 as well as 15 ou the top 20 have agreed to give the bonus back in full.

Here’s a great recap by REUTERS:

Sept. 16, 2008:

American International Group, the world’s largest insurer, avoids bankruptcy after an $85 billion federal bailout that gives the U.S. government a 79.9% stake in the company.

Sept. 18:

AIG names Edward Liddy, former Allstate chairman, as chairman and chief executive. He succeeds Robert Willumstad, who steps down after three months on the job.

Oct. 3:

AIG announces plan to sell assets to repay its loan from the U.S. government. Moody’s Investors Service cuts AIG’s debt ratings, citing the company’s plans to sell assets, limiting the insurer’s ability to do business.

Oct. 10:

AIG says it had borrowed $70.3 billion from the government as of Oct. 8. AIG draws fire after reports it had spent $223,000 on hotel rooms and spa services days after it got the federal loan.

Oct. 15:

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says he is investigating “unwarranted and outrageous” spending by AIG. Cuomo seeks a full accounting of “bonuses, stock options, severance payments, gratuities, benefits, junkets and any and all other perks.” He wants AIG to recover or rescind the payments.

So Cuomo was already on to the bonuses. barry gets elected and begins transition.

Nov. 6:

AIG says the total owed under its $85 billion line of credit from the U.S. government is down to $61.3 billion. AIG companies also had borrowed $19.9 billion under a separate $38 billion securities lending agreement, making the total amount the government had made available to AIG about $123 billion.

Nov. 25:

AIG says Liddy’s salary will be $1 for the coming year and rules out 2008 bonuses for AIG’s seven top executives. Fifty more executives won’t get raises in 2009, the company says.

Dec. 2:

AIG and the government agree to clear the insurer of its obligations on about $53.5 billion in bad mortgage debt.

Dec. 22:

German reinsurer Munich Re says it will buy AIG’s HSB Group for $742 million.

Jan. 26, 2009:

AIG says it is working with Bank of America and Merrill Lynch to sell a fund management business that operates 15 funds with more than $12.4 billion in assets.

March 2:

The Treasury and the Fed announce a third new aid plan for AIG, putting $30 billion more at its disposal.

March 14:

AIG once again comes under criticism after reports that its financial products unit is obligated to pay at least $165 million in employee bonuses.