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<H1 class=storyheadline>Cuomo: Merrill CEO bonus is 'shocking'</H1>
<H2 class=storysubhead>New York Attorney General lashes out at potential $10
million bonus for the battered investment firm's chief executive.</H2>
<DIV class=storybyline>By <A
href="http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/08/news/economy/Cuomo_Thain/mailto:ben.rooney@turner.com"
target=_blank>Ben Rooney</A>, CNNMoney.com staff writer</DIV>
<DIV class=storytimestamp>Last Updated: December 8, 2008: 2:01 PM ET</DIV>
<DIV class=storytext>
<P>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Monday
that the <FONT color=#ff0000><STRONG>$10 million bonus</STRONG></FONT>
reportedly being considered for Merrill Lynch's chief executive John Thain is
"nothing less than shocking."</P>
<P>In a strongly worded letter sent to members of Merrill's board of directors,
Cuomo points out that <STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000>the brokerage reported losses
for every quarter this year, and has lost more than $11 billion in
2008.<BR></FONT></STRONG><BR>He added that Bank of America's (<A
href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=BAC&source=story_quote_link"
target=_blank>BAC</A>, <A
href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/snapshots/2580.html?source=story_f500_link"
target=_blank>Fortune 500</A>) takeover of Merrill, which was formally approved
by shareholders Friday, "seems to have been the only thing that saved Merrill
from collapse."</P>
<P>"Clearly, the performance of Merrill's top executives throughout Merrill's
abysmal year in no way justifies significant bonuses for its top executives,
including the CEO," Cuomo said in the letter.</P>
<P>A spokeswoman for Merrill Lynch (<A
href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=MER&source=story_quote_link"
target=_blank>MER</A>, <A
href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/snapshots/2487.html?source=story_f500_link"
target=_blank>Fortune 500</A>) declined to comment.</P>
<P>Merrill Lynch's Thain, 53, who joined the ailing brokerage last December, is
reportedly requesting a year-end bonus of $10 million, a source familiar with
Cuomo's investigation told CNN.</P>
<DIV class=instoryheading>Massive losses</DIV>
<P>Thain replaced Stanley O'Neal as chief executive after the firm reported its
first multi-billion dollar loss on bad mortgage-backed assets late last
year.</P>
<P>As losses accelerated at Merrill, Thain orchestrated the deal with Bank of
America in September in a bid to save 94-year-old brokerage.</P>
<P>The deal valued Merrill at $50 billion at the time. Bank of America shares
have fallen 46% since then, putting the value on the merger at just under $20
billion as of Friday.</P>
<P>Cuomo has been a vocal critic of the "outsized" bonuses Wall Street's top
executives have received, which he says are even more unjustified in light of
the current economic crisis and the billions of taxpayer dollars that have been
injected into the banking system.</P>
<P>In October, Bank of America received a capital investment of $15 billion from
the government's Troubled Asset Relief Fund. To date, the government has given a
total of $161 billion to more than 50 banks.</P>
<P>"It is imperative that Merrill's Board prevent wasteful expenditures of
corporate funds on outsized executive bonuses and other unjustified
compensation," Cuomo said. <A
href="http://cnnmoney.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Cuomo%3A+Merrill+CEO+bonus+is+%27shocking%27+-+Dec.+8%2C+2008&expire=-1&urlID=32939598&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2008%2F12%2F08%2Fnews%2Feconomy%2FCuomo_Thain%2Findex.htm%3Fcnn%3Dyes&partnerID=2200#TOP"><IMG
height=7 alt="To top of page" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif"
width=7 border=0></A></P>
<DIV class=storytimestamp>First Published: December 8, 2008: 12:42 PM
ET</DIV></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>