Not Exactly Surprising

You mean they didn't listen to the President's sternly worded letter? (via atrios)

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc.’s highest paid executives in the unit blamed for pushing the insurer to the brink of collapse haven’t returned bonuses as they’d promised, according to the Obama administration.

Four of five managers in AIG’s Financial Products unit that are under the jurisdiction of pay master Kenneth Feinberg didn’t make good on pledges to return the bonuses as of August, Feinberg said in documents released yesterday. The fifth employee hadn’t made any promise, Feinberg said.

“The performance of AIG Financial Products has contributed significantly to the deterioration in AIG’s financial health,” Feinberg said. Compensation proposed by AIG for the staff doesn’t “adequately reflect the role of AIG Financial Products” in the decline of the insurer, he said.

AIG, which received a $182.3 billion U.S. government bailout, ignited a backlash after giving about $165 million in March to its derivatives staff.President Barack Obama called the bonuses an “outrage.” The New York-based insurer said the pay was needed to keep staff to unwind money-losing derivative trades that regulators said could destabilize the global financial system.

No one could have seen this coming.