Oooooo... a strongly worded letter is going to get them to change their minds at BoA

I would hope that Cuomo pulls out all the stops and goes after 'em legally if they don't provide the names.

When all is said and done, I believe this will turn out to be the biggest financial scandal in history.

Does Barney Frank sign all of his correspondences with a blue crayon?

I hope they comply to the letter....

But something tells me that they won't.

I sincerely hope they do, though, as being upfront and as transparent as possible is likely the only way to restore confidence to Americans who use companies who recieved "bailout" funds. We want to know how these companies are using their money to better themselves and get back on the right track.

Wow, I wonder if this is something that they must disclose or it will simply be shuffled under the rug along with any credibility the American banks once had.

Unfortunately, Bank of America will laugh, send more money (ours) to the lobbyists to pay off the Congresspeople and Senators and that will be the end of that inquiry.

I thought compensation details for most executives were available for publicly traded companies... is that innacurate?

That aside, I fail to see how 'demanding' this information from BAC will help anyone.

Nice publicity stunt.

He needs to read the Consumerist on how to write an EECB. He should have listed the consequences of non-compliance ($100k fine per day, contact the media, contact the state's AG...err...scratch that last one).

I love how America is rejoicing over the death of capitalism.

Does Barney Frank sign all of his correspondences with a blue crayon?

What you're not seeing is the pink lipstick imprint at the bottom of the page.

Taxpayers who are footing the bill obviously demand accountability.
Yet Frank is still in office...

If Frank points enough in other directions, maybe no one will look at him.

@freelunch: It is a show obviously.

Its designed to make other banks think very long and hard before they attempt this kind of stunt which is very unethical.

I can't wait for the next letter which is going to tell them that they are responsible and want their TARP money back.

"2008 bonus awards" BOA will claim that these were "financial salary adjustments due to job performance" and don't need to give this list out...

Taxpayers who are footing the bill obviously demand accountability.
Yet Frank is still in office...

Thank You!!! When does Barney Frank have to answer for his sins?

I want to know why OneUnited received TARP money, Barney Effing Frank!

@spoco: darn.

Notice that lack of words like "must", "shall" and "are required to". Everything is "should". ( I'll preface this by saying I think it's BS that they want to know what the individual executives were paid.) However, it's even more absurd that when this $700b piece of legislation was passed, no one bothered to attach any conditions to the money. The Congress is trying to impose post hoc restrictions on the money, which is simply wrong. You've got the various Congressman who were heavily involved in passing TARP now screaming about accountability, yet they fail to acknowledge that the fault for his lack of accountability falls squarely on their shoulders. If the conditions attached to the TARP money didn't impose disclosure obligations on the recipients, BoA of completely right in refusing to reveal the private compensation data of their people. I don't care where the money came from, taxpayer or otherwise. That information is private absent some condition attached to the money requiring said disclosure. It seems Congress failed to do this, and now they are trying to make a big show out of it.

What a putz. The US government holds preferred stock in BofA. Maybe they should go look up what that means. Preferreds don't get to demand corporate information and business control. If they wanted that, they should have gotten common shares.

Oh yeah and the last line reads to me like a classic Simpson's line "Stop! Or I will ask you once again to Stop!"

So to what end? Let's say the bank discloses this information. Then what? Media attacks on the people that received it? Seems fruitless to me, other than to keep attention on the bank for their ill-advised decisions, but I suppose that is their point, even though it doesn't serve any useful purpose.

Gladys Glover!

We believe that as a matter of transparency and disclosure, taxpayers have a right to know where their tax dollars go once received by TARP recipients. Accordingly, all TARP recipient institutions should disclose individualized executive bonus information to taxpayers.

Got a legal basis for your populist ranting, chucklefucks? Because you didn't put a thing in the bill indicating as such and there is no legal requirement to furnish that data. I know Barney Frank is still very much paying penance for years of being the most visibly irresponsible regulator in Washington but still, this is especially grating. Stop trying to bootstrap PR campaigns into investigations of wrongdoing. Oh, and go get fucked, you glory-hounding assholes.

"The taxpayers of this country have given mightily to that cause."

I didn't choose to "give" anything to those slimeballs. Maybe we should have them "give" us a return on the money they've essentially swindled from us.

nice one humphrmi. This whole society is based on pushing accountability to the next guy, who then looks for who they can push it on to. Everyone's accountable.

Is the reply to comments feature broken?

@spoco: Have you stopped using money? Then capitalism is far from dead.

If only Paulson were still running Treasury, then Delay etc would demand the bankers release the names of the bank execs pilfering less than a million dollars of taxpayer funds apiece. Just so Fox News could ridicule them for lacking imagination and ambition, and Limbaugh could call them Socialist.

This is such a joke. When will Barney Frank be held accountable for the housing crisis for which he is directly responsible.

Hint: He won't. He is at the height of his demigod power right now, the media loves him and he will get away scot free for his crimes. This man should be the one heading to jail, not corporate employees carrying out employment contracts.

Barney Frank isn't one to talk. He got $42,350 in campaign contributions from Freddie and Fannie between 1989 and 2008. Of course that pales in comparison to the $126,349 Obama got from them.

I like how BofA for all of last week has/was been running full page ads in the local newspaper (Albuquerque Journal) thanking the people for their generous contributions to help them stay afloat (so they can continue to change your billing date on CC's, and the multitudes of other gang rape tactics they perform). What a douche bag company......

Notice there's an address at the top. If we truly do agree that there should be transparency then write to that address and tell them you agree with Andrew Coumo and Barney Frank. Don't just let someone speak for you speak with them. Someone accused them of 'glory-hounding', And while I may agree I also see that that glory-hounding gets the information into the public's eye. Yes these politicians are working towards their own goals but that doesn't mean that those goals can't occasionally coincide with ours. When we, the ones who foot the bill, disagree with their practices we can voice our opinions instead of complaining about it in a little box on the bottom of a web page.

We would also appreciate their home addresses, PO boxes, and phone numbers. and the EMEI of their cellphones.

kthxBURNTHERICH!!!!

Political stunt. This has about as much legal weight as a note passed in study hall.
If B of A wanted to raise the ante ,release the names (they are going to come out one way or another) and release the amount of $$$ that Barney Frank and NY politicians were given in support of "good government". That would be the cynical, oily thing to do.

@savdavid: not Cuomo. There are actual death threats against him he is so tenacious in going after people.

@spoco: I love how idiots dont know what the hell they are talking about think this is the "death of capitalism."

Dude we are not even CLOSE to the end of capitalism. Even if all our human services became socialized we would be a LONG way from what it means to be a actual Communism like you morons think.

Really? Did Barney Frank really just sign his name with a fat, sharpie-esque pen??

Why only ask for individual bonus data on the $1+ million bonuses? Bonuses are based on how well the company does, so why would any salaried personnel in a failing bank be entitled to a bonus?

@JGKojak: except that he is wasting tax payer money over an issue he has no jurisdiction over nor does he have a case/ legal ground to stand on.

It's like someone who cuts off his nose to spite his face.

razremytuxbuddy: Bonuses aren't always based on how well the COMPANY does, but sometimes on how well the individual receiving the bonus does. They may be tied only to meeting a certain performance expectation, to exceeding one or to doing something extraordinary. The fact the company isn't doing well doesn't necessarily mean none of the employees, managers or otherwise, are not entitled to a bonus.

Executive Bonus TARP Retribution is the only thing that stands between Barney Frank and getting that wascally wabbit

@WisconsinDadof2: be is just tying to secure his political future. Big waste of time

@Canino: Lipstick? Are you sure it's not a crushed up Oxycontin? Better grab your ankles and make sure...

@FooSchnickens: are you serious? They're paying interest on the loans, that is your return.

FAIL

The letter could have been signed by Opera Winfred and Larry King with the same effect. Nice seals on the top of the letter however.

I'm a proud Barney Frank supporter though (living in his district). Despite notable personal setbacks, he's worked very hard for all of us

Hmmm, let's see. A harsh letter from the New York State Attorney General and a US Representative from Massachussets to a company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Good luck with that!

Better yet, where are the supoenaes to BoA and ML demanding accountability? Perhaps these should come from Congress directly. What taxpayers really want to know is if any of the Federal TARP funds (or ANY taxpayer dollars for that matter) were used for these million-dollar bonuses. If BoA and ML can provie those bonuses were paid by other sources, then it still smells bad but it doesn't indict them. Alternatively, if BOA & ML refuse to divulge this information, then the Feds should simply pull all TARP funding away from them.

@WisconsinDadof2: That is a very good question. It's not the recipients' faults. If my company was doing badly and my boss handed me a chunk of change, I would think "sweet, nest egg!". My best guess is that the people who approved of and received the bonuses (and the moving up of the bonus schedule as to maximize their personal profits based on record-setting, as-yet-unpublicized company losses - bastards) are probably one and the same. I suspect that this is likely the case and they are looking for more rope to hang them with.

I can only hope that once they get an accounting of the amount that was handed out as bonuses, as this was money that the businesses clearly didn't need, they turn around and duly demand a refund.

The amount of greed in all of this is mind-blowing and still shocks me. Thought I was a bigger cynic than that.

@jp7570:
There are no subpoenas because they don't have any authority to issue them. That's they they are essentially asking for the information, because they don't currently have any legal way of forcing them to reveal it.

This letter will be followed by a gigantic
SHHHHHHH, with BOA grabbing them by the shoulder and reminding them who pays for their campaigns