Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Report: $7M Merrill bonus to LatAm banker

Former executives with Merrill Lynch has come under fire for the granting of multimillion dollar bonuses shortly before the firm was acquired by Bank of America.

The bonus controversy has garnered more attention due to the investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. He has looked into why so much money in bonuses were given out while the company asked for (and subsequently received) roughly $45 billion of a Wall Street rescue package.

The latest chapter in the bonus debacle reportedly involves the distributing of one Latin American banker who got a hefty check from Merrill:
Merrill Lynch & Co paid Latin American investment banker Alexandre Bettamio, whom it poached from UBS AG (UBSN.VX), at least $7 million in guaranteed bonuses for 2008, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The firm's investment bankers in Latin America, including Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, earned revenue of about $50 million through late December, while piling up at least $100 million in expenses, most of them compensation-related, one person familiar with the results told the paper.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Image- The Telegraph
Online Sources- Gothamist, Huffington Post, AFP, Reuters

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