The U.S. Treasury's pay czar, who oversees compensation for the highest-paid employees at the firms that received U.S. taxpayer assistance, said on Thursday that he is concerned that pay cuts could obstruct the ability of these firms to retain and attract top talent. However, the pay czar would be open to requests to hire new executives at competitive industry rates. The pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, decides compensation packages for the highest-paid employees at the seven firms that have received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The pay restrictions were imposed on these firms to enable them to repay government money by controlling excessive pay. The seven firms, whose top 25 earners received an average 50% lower pay last month by the order of the pay czar, are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group ...

Yesterday, the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK) completed two acquisitions - Insight Investment Management Limited and Pinnacle Arbitrage Compliance. It acquired Insight Investment Management Limited from Lloyds Banking Group plc (LYG) Insight Investment specializes in Liability Driven Investment (LDI) solutions, active Fixed Income and Absolute Return and is based in London. Its clients include some of the UK's largest pension schemes, corporations, insurance companies and local authorities, along with a growing number of non-UK clients and some of the best known financial services and intermediary companies. BNY Mellon also completed its previously announced acquisition of Pinnacle Arbitrage Compliance, one of the largest independent U.S. firms devoted exclusively to compliance services for tax-exempt bond issuers and conduit borrowers. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. With these acquisitions, BNY Mellon will have more than $1 trillion in assets under ...

Citigroup Inc. (C) could be compelled to sell its profitable and highly rated Mexican subsidiary Banamex due to a probe expected this week by Mexico’s Supreme Court. A group of senators has objected that Citigroup’s Mexican subsidiary is in breach of national law since the US government bail-out of the company. National law of Mexico bans foreign governments from owning a stake in domestic banks. Banamex, or Banco Nacional de Mexico, is one of Citigroup's brightest jewels, and accounts for over $20 billion, or 15% of its global profits. A number of other foreign-dominated banks operating in Mexico also remain exposed to the same risk, as many foreign governments own stake in them following the global financial crisis. These banks include American International Group, Inc. (AIG), Bank of America Corporation (BAC) and Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK), as well as ...

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel said on Wednesday that Congress will soon investigate executive compensation at companies that received significant amount of taxpayer funds. The U.S. Treasury's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg is in charge of deciding compensation packages for the highest-paid employees at all the firms that received bailout money. For seven firms, the situation is critical as these firms received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The seven firms whose compensation plans will be scrutinized are American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Chrysler Financial, Chrysler Group LLC, General Motors and GMAC Inc (GJM). The U.S. Treasury Department is pressing bailed out insurer AIG to reduce $198 million in scheduled retention payments after the government missed the opportunity to defend against controversial bonuses to AIG employees last year. However, AIG ...

In the course of the review of the aptness of the richest pay packages proposed by seven financial firms that received $200 billion in government aid, the U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg is planning to cut the annual cash salaries for many of the top executives whose firms accepted bailout funds. As an alternative to paying large cash salaries, the pay czar is planning to shift a large portion of an employee's annual salary to stock that cannot be accessed for several years. The percentage of salary to be diverted to stock is not yet clear, but it could be above 50% in some cases. The stock compensation would be in addition to salaries and cash bonuses. This will be an incentive for the executive to make good long-term decisions about the company. By mid-October this year, Feinberg expects to issue his judgment on compensation packages ...

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bank of America Corporation (BAC) said Tuesday that the bank is expected to repay the bailout money it has received from the government in relation to its participation in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in installments. The government is also pushing the bank to pay at least $500 million to conclude a tentative pact in which the government agreed to share losses on certain BofA assets. The installment payments would enable BofA to gradually reduce government involvement in its affairs. However, unlike the other banks, BofA does not intend to repay its entire $45 billion support from the TARP in lump sum, as it has faced mounting loan losses as more customers default. But it may start with the repayment of $20 billion, which it received as part of the total aid to absorb loss-making investment bank Merrill ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 2, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Bank of America Corporation (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK), Goldman Sachs (GS) and U.S. Bancorp (USB).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

BofA to Repay TARP (in Part)

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) intends to pay back some of the bailout money it has received from the government in its participation of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The government is also pushing

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Bank of America Corporation (BAC) intends to pay back some of the bailout money it has received from the government in its participation of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The government is also pushing the bank to pay at least $500 million to conclude a tentative pact in which the government agreed to share losses on certain BofA assets. The completion of the payments would enable BofA to reduce a part of the government's involvement in its affairs. Some of the large financial firms that have already repaid government fund are Morgan Stanley (MS), Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK), Goldman Sachs (GS), U.S. Bancorp (USB), American Express Company (AXP), BB&T Corporation (BBT) and State Street Corporation (STT). The repayment of government money can be viewed as a sign of recovery of the institutions as ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 1, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: American International Group (AIG), Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS), Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK) and Goldman Sachs (GS).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Moody’s Confident About U.S.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have injected about $12 trillion to revive the economy and credit markets. As a result, the budget deficit is expected to reach $1.6 trillion this year and

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Moody's Investors Service on Friday affirmed its Aaa credit rating on the United States. The action considers the country’s ability to survive the credit crisis, its political stability and favorable long-term economic prospects. Though the rising debt burden could threaten the creditworthiness of the world's largest economy, much of the debt the country is accumulating is backed by equity and securities purchases, which lessens the negative effect on the government's net worth. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve have injected about $12 trillion to revive the economy and credit markets. As a result, the budget deficit is expected to reach $1.6 trillion this year and $1.4 trillion next year. In its mid-year economic review, the Office of Management and Budget increased its estimate of the 10-year deficit by almost $2 trillion from the previous level to $9.05 trillion....