Merrill Lynch took the unusual step of accelerating bonus payments by a month last year, doling out billions of dollars to employees just three days before closing its sale to Bank of America. The timing is notable because the money was paid as Merrill’s losses were mounting and Ken Lewis, BofA’s chief executive, was seeking additional funds from the government’s TARP scheme to help close the deal. Merrill and BofA shareholders voted to approve the takeover on Dec 5. Three days later, Merrill’s compensation committee approved the bonuses, which were paid on Dec 29. In past years, Merrill had paid bonuses later – usually late January or early February. Nancy Bush, an analyst with NAB Research, described the size of the 2008 Merrill bonus payments as “ridiculous”.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 5:51 and is filed under Capital markets, People. Tagged with BofA, merrill lynch. Edit this entry.