Reply #42: Bank got bailout, CEO got golden parachute [View All]

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http://www.propublica.org/article/bank-got-bailout-ceo-got-golden-parachute-1119/

The South Financial Group, South Carolina's largest bank, announced earlier this week that it had been approved to receive $347 million from the U.S. government. But the bank's founder and longtime CEO Mack Whittle won't be sticking around. He retired with an $18 million severance package in late October, two months earlier than had been expected. Because of the timing, he's free from golden parachute limits (PDF) that come with accepting bailout money.

"It smells like he moved the retirement date up to avoid ," said Paul Hodgson of the Corporate Library, a corporate-governance research firm. And the government's millions "make it a lot easier for the company to pay it out."

The move has proven controversial. After South Carolina's The State reported on suspicions of the deal's timing, Gov. Mark Sanford (R) called for the Treasury Department to investigate and said Whittle seemed to be "gaming the system." A spokesman for the governor said he had yet to receive a response from Treasury.