Kenneth Feinberg, the administration’s special master for executive compensation, has determined that banks paid out $1.58 billion in unwarranted bonuses to top earners at the height of the financial crisis. Feinberg will name 17 financial companies (including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and AIG) that made payouts immediately after accepting billions in taxpayer aid in 2008. He is expected to conclude in the report, due Friday, that the payouts “were ill-advised but not unlawful or contrary to the public interest.” [NYT]
