Bank of America paid $1.2 billion to Merrill associates…
We hate to pick on Bank of America (BAC). Really we do. But we couldn’t help it after noticing something new and interesting buried deep in this amended 8K filed late yesterday. We’ll skip right to the good part:
Adjustments to record approximately $1.2 billion related to contractual change in control obligations included in historical Merrill Lynch share-based payment awards for Merrill Lynch associates. Bank of America is required to settle these share-based payment awards in cash. The adjustments reflected herein are based on current assumptions and valuations as of January 1, 2009.
The disclosure is a new one. Of course, there’s no breakdown on exactly who — or how many — got that $1.2 billion. But this story on the front page of the WSJ provides some pretty good clues based on what’s clearly private information. Then again, the Journal is looking at salaries and yesterday’s 8K describes this as change in control payments, which probably means that this is in addition to those salaries. What would be interesting to know is whether some of the former Merrill execs who now work for BofA got some of that $1.2 billion mentioned in yesterday’s filing.
Yesterday’s filing was an update to this 8K filed on Jan. 2 announcing the completion of the acquisition of Merrill to provide pro-forma numbers. The filing also estimates the cost of the merger at $3 billion and the savings to be as high as $7 billion, which seems pretty optimistic. And there’s enough footnotes (and footnotes to the footnotes) to keep you occupied for a good chunk of the day in an attempt to sort through. At the end of the filing, there’s even some pro-forma numbers for Countrywide — a deal that closed a year ago.
So who did that $1.2 billion go to? Let the guessing begin.
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Posted in Tags: 8Ks, bailout, banks |
 6 Comments » |
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March 4th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Danny Tully
March 4th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Hmm, let me check…
Nope, not me.
Is it because I didn’t help kill a global financial services company?
March 4th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
…just further proof of the one big corporate banking mafia!
March 4th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
New York AG subpoenas Merrill execs on bonuses: WSJ
7:15p ET March 4, 2009 (MarketWatch)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has issued subpoenas to Merrill Lynch executives who were paid more than $10 million each in cash and stock last year as the embattled investment firm was sliding toward a hasty merger with Bank of America Corp. , according to a media report Wednesday. The online edition of The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that executives receiving subpoenas include Andrea Orcel, Thomas Montag and Peter Kraus. Cuomo is seeking testimony from the executives related to an investigation into whether the bonus payments violated securities laws, according to the report.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
The notion that vastly overpaid bank execs needed “retention” bonuses and “change in control” payouts is preposterous … they would have just jumped to the next bank and likley have gotten “signing” bonuses, to boot …
Under the circumstances, “change in control” is effectively legalized looting & stealing of wealth from BofA shareholders and taxpayers , to the same Merrill execs who torpedoed the company.
March 11th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Michelle,
Thanks for taking the time to decode 8K’s. You’re perspective is appreciated. I’ve posted you on my website under the ‘Recession 101′ link http://www.RecessionGirl.com. Thanks again.