Senate Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
Title I - Troubled Assets Relief Program
Sec. 111. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
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APPLICABILITY.Any financial institution that sells troubled assets to the Secretary under this Act shall be subject to the executive compensation requirements of subsections (b) and© and the provisions under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as provided under the amendment by section 302, as applicable.
DIRECT PURCHASES.
IN GENERAL.Where the Secretary determines that the purposes of this Act are best met through direct purchases of troubled assets from an individual financial institution where no bidding process or market prices are available, and the Secretary receives a meaningful equity or debt position in the financial institution as a result of the transaction, the Secretary shall require that the financial institution meet appropriate standards for executive compensation and corporate governance. The standards required under this subsection shall be effective for the duration of the period that the Secretary holds an equity or debt position in the financial institution.
CRITERIA.The standards required under this subsection shall include
limits on compensation that exclude incentives for senior executive officers of a financial institution to take unnecessary and excessive risks that threaten the value of the financial institution during the period that the Secretary holds an equity or debt position in the financial institution;
a provision for the recovery by the financial institution of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive officer based on statements of earnings, gains, or other criteria that are later proven to be materially inaccurate; and
a prohibition on the financial institution making any golden parachute payment to its senior executive officer during the period that the Secretary holds an equity or debt position in the financial institution.
DEFINITION.For purposes of this section, the term senior executive officer means an individual who is one of the top 5 highly paid executives of a public company, whose compensation is required to be disclosed pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and any regulations issued thereunder, and non-public company counterparts.
AUCTION PURCHASES.Where the Secretary determines that the purposes of this Act are best met through auction purchases of troubled assets, and only where such purchases per financial institution in the aggregate exceed $300,000,000 (including direct purchases), the Secretary shall prohibit, for such financial institution, any new employment contract with a senior executive offi cer that provides a golden parachute in the event of an involuntary termination, bankruptcy filing, insolvency, or receivership. The Secretary shall issue guidance to carry out this paragraph not later than 2 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and such guidance shall be effective upon issuance.
SUNSET.The provisions of subsection© shall apply only to arrangements entered into during the period during which the authorities under section 101(a) are in effect, as determined under section 120.
General Comments on Senate Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
item "d" should be retroactive - same as for divorces, civil cases etc. You cannot just dump assets into your pocket when you know a divorce is coming, or set up a transaction simply to avoid paying taxes.
Agree with Anonymous, that a retroactive clause is needed. Also it is still up to the Secretary to determine what is "appropriate" executive compensation. There is no penalty to the Secretary for looking the other way for friends and cronies who want to fill their pockets either before or after the effective period.
Over the years I have seen my IRA lose money especially during the last year when my Class B shares with Dreyfus Corporation took a $3000.00 loss in two months. I want to be compensated for my $3000.00 loss before any CEO's receive one dime. How can the average citizen see their portfolio's grow when CEO's have such high salaries - which obviously must be obtained from our investments. Enough!!
Kathleen Ford Morganfield, KY 42437
There are no limits on Executive Compensation. If some executive is making a Million Dollars per Month during the time that we the taxpayer give his company $30B, that is permitted in the above. That is unacceptable.
My understanding of CEO bonuses, not salaries, paid to the executives of the top five companies in 2007 is that $39 billion was paid out in bonuses alone. Why is this not being addressed in the latest proposal even though it is the major concern of taxpayers who oppose the bailout package?
Wish I could make decisions regarding my employment and if it turned out bad still have the same pay, bonus or even raises.
Just remember this---on November 4, 2008---don't vote to put these fat cats back in office...We the people are being ignored by the elected officials who's loyality belongs to the wealthy and corporate America.
This bill will not prevent Golden Parachutes from opening. It will fail due to it's weak language and will impoverish the average taxpayer.