Few Ways to Recover Bonuses to Bankers

I’ve recently pointed to a few stories (here and here) pertaining to Wall Street bonuses. I’m sure some people have been wondering if there is any way to get this bonus money back — especially if it turns out that taxpayer money was used to fund these bonuses. Alas, there probably isn’t. From the New York Times:Some suggest that the easiest way for Congress to recover the money would be to impose a substantial tax on 2008 Wall Street bonuses retroactively, but that would hurt New York and other financial centers.While bankers earn far more than people in many other fields, pay experts also noted that bonuses account for a large portion of total compensation on Wall Street. Within the industry, many see bonuses as a kind of deferred salary, rather than simply a reward for good performance. And some bank employees may have done their jobs well, even though their employers lost billions.Despite the current outcry in Washington, some compensation experts said Congress missed a chance to impose strict limits on 2008 bonuses last fall, when the government embarked on its rescue plan.“The time to say ‘no bonuses’ has come and gone,” said Brian Foley, an executive compensation consultant in White Plains. “The horse is out of the barn and over the horizon.”Earlier, I said that there likely isn’t a way to get the bonus money back. Of course, what I should have said is that no one is going to insist on having it returned. Plus, some of it has been spent too.