Apparently, according to the Wall Street Journal, John Thain is tussling with Merrill Lynch's board over his 2008 bonus. He's said to be pushing for a $10 million bonus, and the compensation committee is opting for a figure that's somewhat more modest -- zero. The Merrill board will meet today to discuss executive bonuses.
Members of Merrill's compensation committee, which makes recommendations on pay and bonuses to the full board, say they agree with Mr. Thain that the takeover is in shareholders' best interest, according to people familiar with their thinking. But they say it would be foolish for the committee to ignore strong public sentiment against large compensation packages, even though Merrill says it opted not to take the recent multibillion-dollar federal capital injection that many of its rivals did.
Committee members are also weighing the fact that other firms are paying no bonuses, these people said. Also, they considered that most other Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which did better than Merrill this year, isn't giving out bonuses to top executives. Executive bonuses also would look bad when as much as 20% of Merrill's employees will soon lose their jobs.
Any decision to pay Merrill executives big bonuses could also raise eyebrows at Bank of America, which is known for its often thrifty ways. Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri said: "We have no comment. They are still an independent company."
Thain Spars With Board Over Bonus At Merrill - Wall Street Journal
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