Bloomberg News: U.S. Limits on Bank Pay, Bonuses Face Senate, Obama Skepticism
Washington, D.C., Of Counsel Michael Oxley, former Congressman and Chairman of the House Financial Services committee, was quoted in a July 31, 2009, Bloomberg News article, "U.S. Limits on Bank Pay, Bonuses Face Senate, Obama Skepticism."
According to the article, restrictions on financial industry bonuses heading to a vote in the U.S. House may be rejected by the Senate and the Obama administration, which are reluctant to increase government's role in deciding compensation. The House, emboldened by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's report that showed nine banks getting U.S. aid paid $32.6 billion in bonuses last year, will probably pass a bill requiring regulators to ban pay practices that encourage "inappropriate risks," according to the article.
Oxley said senators are more likely to back the say-on-pay measure that gives investors a non-binding vote on compensation. "It is difficult for me to believe that the Senate would be particularly interested in passing that version, despite the report," Oxley, co-author of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance law, said. "I don't think it's going to influence the Senate."