Small Fish Get Big Paychecks
For chief executives on Wall Street, it can pay to be with just a middling firm. Jefferies Chief Executive Officer Richard Handler will receive $19 million in total compensation for 2012, well more than bigger names at bigger firms.
J.P. Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon will take home $11.5 million, roughly half of what he made last year, due mainly to the “London Whale” trading fiasco. Another Wall Street titan, Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman, is expected to take a pay cut for 2012 after the firm booked a year-end net loss of $19 million and had to cut thousands of jobs. Gorman made $10.5 million in 2011.
Barclays, meanwhile, is expected to reward Chief Executive Antony Jenkins with a $1.5 million bonus following a scandal-plagued year. Shareholders have already expressed their disdain for paying him that much.
And then there’s Handler, who, in addition to $19 million in total compensation for 2012, will be paid $39 million in restricted stock awards over the next three years, despite flat profit for 2012. Handler did lead Jefferies through a merger with holding company Leucadia, which helped the stock climb 35% last year and likely saved the jobs of hundreds of employees. Needless to say, Handler doesn’t need this advice on dealing with a bad bonus.
Of course, Jefferies isn’t a firm without negative headlines. Jesse Litvak, a former managing director at Jefferies, was arrested Monday for allegedly defrauding customers who purchased mortgage-backed securities from the firm following the financial crisis. Ten years earlier, Jesse Litvak made headlines for cheerier reasons.
Mad, Bad and Dangerous (eFinancialCareers)
U.S. banks appear far better capitalized and therefore far safer as long-term employers. Investment banking arms of some European banks, meanwhile, may be “mad, bad and dangerous to know.”
Sexual Health Problems (eFinancialCareers)
There are two problems with men in banking. One is erectile dysfunction. The other is premature ejaculation.
Eric J. Gleacher has resigned from the boutique investment bank that he founded, Gleacher & Co., as the firm considers its strategic options, including a sale or merger. He will leave his post as chairman and step down from the board of directors.
The latest to be investigated for ties to insider trading are the same institutions that pen the narrative. Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and the Dow Jones are among the publishers being investigated for prematurely leaking market-moving data to investors before the official release time.
The Treasury is doing a poor job of regulating the pay of executives at companies that received federal bailouts and that are still under their watch, including Ally Financial, according to one industry watchdog.
U.S. authorities are reportedly urging Royal Bank of Scotland to cop a guilty plea over the Libor rate manipulation scandal. RBS may be resisting.
Hot Free Agent (Business Insider)
Stanley Fischer, the head of the Bank of Israel, will step down from his post on June 30. He is sure to be a highly coveted free agent.
Buzz Around the Office
Tebow Makes News, Even By Mistake (Deadspin)
ESPN directors may owe commentator Mark Schlereth. They cut to the formal offensive lineman while he was apparently trashing Tim Tebow’s NFL prospects, assuming he was off camera.
List of the Day: Cover Letter Faux Pas
If you really want the job, get these three phrases out of your cover letter.
- I meet the requirements for the position.
- I’m a hard worker.
- Dear sir or madam.
