Bank of America OKs $4B in Bonuses: Report
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (
) --
Bank of America
(BAC) - Get Report
has reportedly approved more than $4 billion in bonuses for investment bankers and traders.
The payouts represent about 19% of the $23 billion in revenue generated by those businesses in 2009, an anonymous source told the
Wall Street Journal
.
Pay has become a touchy subject in the financial industry as firms have returned to profitability on the back of taxpayer bailouts. Big banks like B of A,
Goldman Sachs
(GS) - Get Report
,
Citigroup
(C) - Get Report
,
JPMorgan Chase
(JPM) - Get Report
,
Morgan Stanley
(MS) - Get Report
, which all returned their TARP dollars, have had to answer heated questions about pay packages, as have still-struggling firms like
American International Group
(AIG) - Get Report
,
Fannie Mae
(FNM)
and
Freddie Mac
(FRE)
.
On Tuesday,
Bank of America disclosed that its CEO Brian Moynihan would get a $150,000 raise this year, not including stock awards and potential bonuses, and two other top executives received 60% salary increases.
Bank of America shares finished Wednesday's session down 7 cents at $15.53.
-- Written by Lauren Tara LaCapra in New York
.