製度腐敗的令人發指：AIG又發獎金上億

AIG給公司高管發1.65億美元獎金

　　新浪財經訊 北京時間3月15日中午，據國外媒體報道，美國國際集團(AIG)正給公司高管發1.65億美元獎金，而剛在不久前，AIG剛收到政府1700億美元緊急救助。這家陷入困境的保險業巨頭，一度保證在未來削減開支。

　　美國財政部稱，當前政府並沒有合法的權利去阻止這家公司，為高管支付高額獎金。AIG在月初時宣布，去年四季度虧損617億美元，創公司創立以來最大虧損。


WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama's top economic adviser Sunday blasted "outrageous" conduct at AIG as the bailed-out insurance giant readied to hand out millions in bonuses to top executives.

Lawrence Summers, director of the White House's National Economic Council, said the Obama administration had "scaled back" the bonuses but said its hands were tied by contract law in how far it can go.

"There are a lot of terrible things that have happened in the last 18 months, but what's happened at AIG is the most outrageous, what that company did," he said on ABC program "This Week."

But Summers added: "We are a country of law. There are contracts. The government cannot just abrogate contracts.

"Every legal step possible to limit those bonuses is being taken by (Treasury) Secretary (Timothy) Geithner and by the Federal Reserve system. And they have, as a result of Secretary Geithner's efforts, been scaled back."

The Wall Street Journal said Sunday that AIG boss Edward Liddy was planning to shell out 450 million dollars to executives at a London-based financial products division blamed for the company's fall from grace.

Liddy has reportedly told Geithner that the bonuses cannot be cancelled due to a risk of lawsuits for breach of employment contracts, and that AIG risks an exodus of senior employees if it does not pay out bonuses.

Summers appeared to lend some credence to that argument.

He said "there is one other reality we have to recognize, which is that these companies have to be enabled to function, if the government is going to maximize the prospect of getting its money back."

Massive losses at the division in London have forced the US government to pump some 150 billion dollars into crippled AIG, and it is planning another emergency injection of 30 billion dollars.

Condemnation of the planned bonuses came from both sides of the political aisle.

"It is an outrageous situation," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on the ABC show, while accusing the Obama administration of dodging its own culpability.

"And for them to simply sit there and blame it on the previous administration or claim contract -- we all know that contracts are valid in this country. But they need to be looked at," he said.