U.S. Treasury failed to curb excess 2012 pay at GM, Ally, watchdog says
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WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury Department "failed to rein in excessive pay" at bailed-out General Motors, Ally Financial Inc., and American International Group Inc., the rescue program's inspector general said.
Sixteen of the 69 top employees at the three companies had 2012 pay packages worth at least $5 million and all but one had total compensation of $1 million or more, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said in a report today.
Since much of the compensation is in stock, only three of the executives had cash salaries of more than $1 million.
Despite previous warnings by the special inspector general that the Treasury "lacked robust criteria, policies and procedures" to curb excessive pay, the department "made no meaningful reform to its processes," according to the report.
The Treasury's decisions "were largely driven by the pay proposals" made by GM, Ally and AIG, according to the watchdog known by the acronym SIGTARP.
"SIGTARP found that once again, in 2012, Treasury failed to rein in excessive pay," according to the report.
Patricia Geoghegan, the Treasury's acting special master for TARP executive compensation, said she disagreed with the special inspector general's findings.
The Treasury "has limited excessive compensation while at the same time keeping compensation at levels that enable" the three companies to remain competitive and repay their bailout money, Geoghegan said in a Jan. 25 letter to Christy Romero, the special inspector general.
Top executives
Pay for top executives at seven bailed-out companies was scrutinized and restricted by the Treasury special master's office starting in 2009.
Chrysler Group, Chrysler Financial Corp., AIG, Bank of America Corp., and Citigroup Inc. have left TARP and are no longer subject to the special master's rulings.
The Treasury plans to sell its remaining shares in GM in the next 12 to 15 months and end its ownership in the automaker, which received $50 billion in taxpayer money in a bailout that began in 2009.
In December, when it announced plans to unload its GM shares, the government lifted some restrictions on the company, such as a prohibition against traveling on company-owned aircraft.
GM CEO Dan Akerson has openly complained the pay caps have hurt the company's ability to recruit and retain top executives.
Akerson's 2012 compensation package was set at $9 million with a cash salary of $1.7 million and stock salary of $7.3 million, The Detroit Free Press reported.
A Treasury Department official told the Free Press today that the Treasury does not plan to lift the pay restrictions until it has sold all of its shares.
GM will disclose final 2012 compensation levels for its top five executives this spring.
"General Motors is performing at its highest levels in years with a string of 11 profitable quarters and soon will have one of the industry's newest product lineups, while complying with all TARP restrictions and Special Master's decisions," GM said in a statement today responding to the watchdog report.
U.S. Treasury officials last year froze Akerson's pay and authorized a 12 percent cut in total compensation for GM's top executives.
But several top GM executives received increases, according to today's report.
GM Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky, who was later appointed as interim president of GM's struggling European operations, received a $5.4 million package, including a $600,000 cash salary. GM CFO Daniel Ammann received a $5 million package with a cash salary of $750,000.
The report specifically challenged raises for two leaders of GM's European operations. GM has lost more than $16 billion in Europe over the last 13 years.
Four GM executives were awarded raises of 15 percent to 23 percent "on the basis that they were among the individuals that GM's CEO most relied on, and they had received significant promotions or increased job responsibilities," according to the report.
"While taxpayers struggle to overcome the recent financial crisis and look to the U.S. government to put a lid on compensation for executives of firms whose missteps nearly crippled the U.S. financial system, the U.S. Department of the Treasury continues to allow excessive executive pay," the report said.
The Treasury approved all 18 pay raises requested by the companies.
But Geoghegan, the Treasury's "pay czar," agreed to shift more pay away from longer-term incentive pay.
GM and Ally each proposed nine pay raises, and AIG proposed one pay raise worth $1 million, the report said.
Treasury approved raises of 15 percent to 23 percent without any further detail or analysis for four employees "on the basis that they were among the individuals that GM's CEO most relied on, and they had received significant promotions or increased job responsibilities," the audit said.
An examiner is due to issue a report in April concerning a proposed settlement between Ally and ResCap.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in October that TARP would ultimately cost taxpayers $24 billion, less than the $109 billion projected in March 2010.
Congress authorized $700 billion for the financial rescue in October 2008, and the bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush.
About $418 billion of the $700 billion has been used, and the Treasury has recovered $389 billion.
AIG, the New York-based insurer that left TARP in December, has said the pay limits imposed as part of a rescue package that swelled to $182.3 billion harmed its ability to attract, retain and motivate employees.
Proceeds from the Treasury's sale of its remaining AIG shares boosted U.S. profit on that bailout to $22.7 billion.
AIG's managers may now get more incentive pay, Chairman Steve Miller said in a Bloomberg Television interview last week. He said the compensation committee met to design the bonus program, and targets may be set within two months.
AIG Chief Executive Officer Robert Benmosche, 68, received less than some peers in 2011. He got about $14 million in total compensation, including a $3 million salary and $10.9 million in stock awards, according to a regulatory filing.
Jay Fishman, the CEO of Travelers Cos., the only insurer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, received $16.5 million. John Strangfeld, CEO of Prudential Financial Inc., the No. 2 U.S. life insurer, got $23.7 million.
Bloomberg and David Phillips contributed to this report
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