Bank of America OKs $4B in Bonuses: Report

Bank of America has reportedly approved more than $4 billion in bonuses for investment bankers and traders.
By Lauren LaCapra ,

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (

TheStreet

) --

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

.

Loading ...