A new report came out today from the Special Inspector General charged with auditing the government's TARP program for foundering financial institutions. According to the report, which you can read in full below, the "Special Master" appointed to curb executive pay at companies getting TARP money wasn't all that special after all. Although President Obama and Congress wanted pay caps of $500K for executives at seven companies that got bailed out, 49 fat cats still got paid $5 million or more between 2009 and 2011. Here's why, according to the audit: more ›

Remember when we taxpayers just had to bail out all those financial institutions because they were in terrible financial shape and "too big to fail?" If we fronted them a little money now, we were told, these normally successful banks would keep on humming. But through FOIA requests, Bloomberg News reveals that the bailout was much larger than initially believed—$7.7 trillion by September of 2009, and banks made an estimated $13 billion of the generous terms of the loans. more ›

Approximately 1,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters marched to Foley Square at around 3 p.m. this afternoon to protest the Obama administration's role in a settlement that would indemnify banks who were directly involved with creating the mortgage crisis. Though the NYPD could not confirm the number of arrests, a DCPI officer noted that "they would be in the family of 20 or so," more than the four that the movement claims were arrested on the steps of the Supreme Court building. Eyewitnesses wrote that the NYPD began arresting protesters after they blocked pedestrian traffic in front of the courthouse, and one claims that video will surface of a NYPD officer punching a protester in the face. more ›

In the wake of the additional budget cuts and teacher layoffs announced on Friday, the city's unions are warming up for Thursday's rally on Wall Street by protesting House Speaker John Boehner's remarks tonight at the Economic Club of New York. Boehner, who is in town after stumping upstate for congressional candidate Jane Corwin earlier today, is expected to speak on "creating a better environment for private-sector job growth," which to the unions is code for "trying to cut funding for the regulations designed to prevent another collapse." more ›

The government has laid out some conditions now that they've agreed to keep the cash strapped organization open for another year. The rescue plan includes opening 600 “quick bet” kiosks in private sports bars, closing most of the OTB parlors and eventually laying off half of the 1,300 workers. Gov. Paterson said, “We will be helpful to them to the extent we can be,” and assured that no taxpayer dollars will go toward the funding. Betters are rejoicing at the news. One Washington Heights gambler said “It’s a great sport, and OTB is a great place to hang out.” However, others just wish it would go away for good. “I wish they could close it—I’d save money!” said better Joe Rizzo. “I don’t even know myself how much money I’ve lost here.” more ›

Gov. Paterson is planning to offer legislation today to bail out the Off Track Betting Corp. for one year. The Post reports the proposal would keep the OTB from having to make some payments to tracks, while requiring them to cut management and create new revenue sources. Paterson said, "It will address the problems for some period of time, but the feasibility of the program working, we have not found the solution. Basically what it does is it shares the burden." more ›

Now that the NYC recession is almost over (your attitude determines your altitude!!!), the Treasury Dept. has announced plans to begin selling its 7.7 billion shares in Citigroup over the course of the next year. This marks a very positive turn for Citigroup, whose stock prices have been steadily increasing during the first three months of 2010. more ›

All may not be lost yet for Greenwich Village's St. Vincent's hospital. According to Crain's, Mount Sinai hospital is in talks to buy St. Vincent's, and is currently performing due diligence to see whether they would want to take on the burden of dealing with St. Vincent's $700 million debt and the poor facilities. They have until April 30th to make a decision. more ›

According to officials and experts, the city's financial crisis is almost over and the job market is on the rise, but who do we thank for the less-devastating-than-expected downturn? Address cards and flowers to the federal government, which provided huge bailouts to Wall Street institutions like Citigroup, JPMogran Chase and Goldman Sachs, economists say. “If you pick almost any economic statistic—income, house prices, construction activity—it would tell the same story: New York has gotten hit, but it hasn’t gotten creamed," Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, tells the Times. more ›

After a week's deliberation union workers at the twice-bailed out St. Vincent's voted to take a ten percent pay cut while the hospital tries to revive itself. "In today’s difficult economic climate for working families, our members’ vote to accept the wage reduction is a testament to how committed they are to the work they do, their passion in providing quality care and their dedication to the patient community they serve. We salute their courageous sacrifice to keep St. Vincent’s hospital open," the union said. Still, the decrease agreed to by the union is half or less of those handed to non-union employees last week: doctors' salaries were slashed by 20 percent and executive pay rates were scaled back 25 percent. more ›

The NY Times has a feature on Bloomberg News's attempt to get the Federal Reserve to disclose information about exactly who was helped by the bailout—and how much they got. The Fed never responded to Bloomberg News's Freedom of Information Act request from September 2008, so the company sued. The lawsuit said, "The documents that Bloomberg seeks are central to understanding the government’s response to the most cataclysmic financial crisis in America since the Great Depression." According to the Times, one of the Fed's worries is that "savvy traders could quickly get their hands on such data in the future and use it to their advantage even as the government was trying to stabilize the markets." The issue is at the appeal courts now. more ›

So St. Vincent's isn't closing yet, but it is losing many of its major functions. Last week it closed its outpatient HIV and mental health clinics and with a $6 million injection from the state and other lenders—meant to hold the hospital over until the end of the month while it tries again to restructure its debt—the facility will lose two-thirds of its beds. To save St. Vincent's "shared sacrifices" will be necessary from all parties, said Governor Paterson. He and other officials are frustrated that unions aren't giving an inch—even faced with the hospital's $700 million debt and $5 million to $10 million monthly losses. Hospital officials told the Daily News the no-interest loan will give them "the time we need to put together a potential plan for the future of St. Vincent's." more ›

After getting a $6 million bail-out from the state—enough to hold it over until it had made “a decision about whether to file for bankruptcy"—St. Vincent’s hospital is slowing to a stop. It’s used the loan to settle employees’ salaries and other costs, but the conversation at a meeting on Friday suggested that there’s not enough to make it into next week. To buy more time, the Greenwich Village landmark facility would need $20 million, so one by one its eliminating its programs and services. more ›

Taxpayers still own 7.7 billion Citigroup shares since the government bailed out the bank as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. So as a valued shareholder, you might be interested to know that Citigroup lost $7.77 billion in the fourth-quarter, or 33 cents per share. Citigroup says $6.2 billion of the loss was tied to a $20 billion fourth-quarter repayment on some $45 billion in government bailout money. (The bank also shed 100,000 jobs during the year.) "The environment continues to be challenging," said Chief financial officer John Gerspach in a statement worthy of the Understatement Hall of Fame. more ›

'Tis the season for somewhat infuriating news: The Washington Post reports, "The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis." more ›

Citigroup has announced that it will return $20 billion that the U.S. government gave it in TARP bailout money last year. According to Bloomberg News, the banking giant "will raise the funds with a sale of $20.5 billion of equity and debt" and "also plans to substitute 'substantial common stock' for cash compensation." Notably, the move from under the government's thumb will also allow the firm to avoid executive pay restrictions. more ›

A Treasury report suggests that the government will, as the NY Times reports, "recover all but $42 billion of the $370 billion it has lent to ailing companies since the financial crisis began last year, with the portion lent to banks actually showing a slight profit." The Obama administration had estimated TARP-related losses of $341 billion. more ›

Senior bankers at Goldman Sachs are arming themselves with handguns to fend off any forthcoming populist uprising against the bank. A friend of one of the bankers tells a Bloomberg News columnist, "I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit," swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker. This unidentified banker says he's not the only one stocking up on guns, and the NYPD confirms that some of the Goldman Sachs bankers do have pistol permits. Well, this ought to fix their public image problem! more ›

Yesterday a 50-cent surcharge was tacked on to taxi fares as part of the state's MTA bailout, starting a cab ride with a $3 base fee... and no one is happy about it. more ›

The Obama administration is set to ask that executive compensation be dramatically lowered at seven companies which received the most government help. While the plan hasn't been made public yet, it's expected that pay will fall an average of 50% for the top 25 paid executives at Citigroup, Bank of America, American International Group, General Motors, Chrysler, GMAC and Chrysler Financial. more ›

Goldman Sachs, a recipient of billions of dollars in government bailout money, has built up $16 billion in its bonus pool so far this year, according to the Post. This is on track to be the largest year for bonuses ever. In unrelated news, the national unemployment rate is still above 10%. more ›

Some good news about the billion dollar bailouts the federal government made last year. The NY Times reports, "The profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15 percent annually, according to calculations compiled for The New York Times." Still, the Times adds, "These early returns are by no means a full accounting of the huge financial rescue undertaken by the federal government last year to stabilize teetering banks and other companies. The government still faces potentially huge long-term losses from its bailouts of the insurance giant American International Group, the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the automakers General Motors and Chrysler. The Treasury Department could also take a hit from its guarantees on billions of dollars of toxic mortgages." more ›

The NY Times has an interesting article wondering about Henry Paulson's many calls to his former company, Goldman Sachs, while he was Treasury Secretary and overseeing bailouts. Sure, Paulson had sold his shares and obtained ethics waivers, but the Times reports, "During the week of the A.I.G. bailout alone, Mr. Paulson and Mr. Blankfein spoke two dozen times, the calendars show, far more frequently than Mr. Paulson did with other Wall Street executives. On Sept. 17, the day Mr. Paulson secured his waivers, he and Mr. Blankfein spoke five times. Two of the calls occurred before Mr. Paulson’s [ethics] waivers were granted." Lawyer and former executive director of the NY State Commission on Government integrity Peter Bienstock said, "If it can happen on a phone call and can happen without public scrutiny, it destroys the standard because then anything can happen in that fashion and any waiver can happen." Paulson's apparently busy writing a memoir, so he didn't comment. more ›

Duane Reade may be a soulless corporate chain, but its our corporate chain, forged right here in 1960 at a warehouse between its eponymous Tribeca streets. But despite (or because of?) its ubiquity—253 locations in NYC and counting—Duane Reade is deeply in debt, and last week its corporate parent, private-equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, shelled out $125 million to save Duane Reade from defaulting on its debt. more ›

Remember when the financial crisis waterboarded the American economy to within an inch of its life, and then taxpayers threw all their money at Wall Street to stop the drowning? That's all behind us now, and those of you reading this in the basement of your parents' tent under the bridge can take comfort in knowing that everything's coming up Goldman. Though CEO Lloyd Blankfein recently urged employees not too buy anything flashy in the wake of record profits, everything else at Goldman is back to normal and no lessons have been learned, just like the end of a Seinfeld episode."Our risk appetite continues to grow year on year, quarter on quarter, as our balance sheet and liquidity continue to grow," crows Goldman president Gary Cohn to the Times. What could go wrong? more ›

Congress voted yesterday to pass a bill curbing executive bonus pay, attempting to prevent what they call "perverse incentives" for execs in the face of a public outcry that came with news about big bonuses being handed out to bigwigs at some of the Bailout Babies of '08. The bill's passage came on the same day as a well-timed new report from Andrew Cuomo documenting how rampant big bonuses were at places like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs; AIG originally set off the bonus backlash earlier this year. The vote in Congress was primarily down party lines; Democrats tried to emphasize that shareholders would get a say in dictating just how much companies are warranted to dole out. It was also reported yesterday that CEOs have also lost out on another bonus—free lunch at the White House. In order to prevent any conflict of interest, the Obama administration has been billing executives who share a meal inside executive offices with the president. The News says there hasn't been a case of presidential penury since Jimmy Carter started charging Congressmen for coffee and danishes when they came to visit. more ›

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released a report on bank bonuses, which he had previously sent to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Eldophus Towns, yesterday, and in it, Cuomo continued to criticize Wall Street's compensation methods. The Wall Street Journal says the report gives a "rare window into the pay culture" of Wall Street:

Nine banks that received government aid money paid out bonuses of nearly $33 billion last year -- including more than $1 million apiece to nearly 5,000 employees -- despite huge losses that plunged the U.S. into economic turmoil... more ›

The government has approved 10 banks to repay TARP bailout funds, which would total about $68 billion. While the Treasury Department has not indicated which banks are included, the NY Times reports they are American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, the BB&T Corporation, Capital One Financial, JPMorgan Chase, the State Street Corporation, US Bancorp, Morgan Stanley, Northern Trust, and Goldman Sachs. Many of the banks passed the stress test (Northern Trust is a holding company and did not have to undergo the stress test. Bloomberg News notes this will "reduc[e]officials’ authority to intervene in everything from lending and hiring strategies to compensation policies." Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, "These repayments are an encouraging sign of financial repair, but we still have work to do." more ›

Embattled insurance giant AIG may be near a deal to sell two buildings—70 Pine Street and 72 Wall Street which are connected by skywalk—for $100 million to an overseas buyer, according to the Post. The deal is rumored to be for $100 million: "The buyers expect to create a mixed-use development that could include residential and retail. But because of anti-terror legislation, the Dept. of State will have to approve any overseas buyer." Well, $100 million is still way less than AIG's executive compensation payouts (AIG has received $182.5 billion in government aid). The company plans to move its employees in 2010. more ›

Governor Paterson wants the State Legislature to vote on the State Senate's MTA bailout plan tomorrow and have it passed by Wednesday. This in spite of the fact that the Senate plan (which includes a payroll tax, taxi dropoff surcharges and Paterson's addition of reimbursing school districts for the payroll tax with state money) might not have the 32 votes it needs in the Senate—and some skepticism from Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver. Paterson told the NY Times, "What I’m saying is, this is not a plan that I think is going to get a blue ribbon. But what it does is it solves the huge immediate problem of the anxiety and fear that commuters have over the shocking increase in fares and the prospect of widespread service cuts." The Senate plan would include an 8% fare hike, vs. the proposed 25% hike in the doomsday plan. He also said he would, if the plan passed, look for ways to fund the MTA's capital program over the summer, but of course, there's also the additional deficit the MTA faces... more ›