Allied Irish Banks to pay €40m bonuses despite bailout

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Stricken Allied Irish Banks is preparing to hand out €40m (£34m) of bonuses next week – despite being on the brink of receiving another emergency bailout from the Irish government.

As many as 2,400 bankers in its Dublin capital markets division are to receive the payments on 17 December under agreements struck with the bank in 2008.

The bank, 19% owned by Ireland's taxpayers but expected to reach 95% state-ownership, had originally been blocked from making the payments under one of the government's bailout programmes.

But legal action by a trader, John Foy, over a deferred €161,000 bonus awarded in 2008 has led the bank to conclude it will need to pay bonuses to many of the staff to whom they were awarded for that year. The bonuses are being handed out at a time when the government is instigating four years of tax rises and brutal cuts to benefits. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/07/ireland-budget-cuts-bailout">The most austere budget in the country's history was passed this week.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/08/allied-irish-banks-pay-bonuses-despite-bailout

[defendandprotect]

1. Identical to the crap we were presented with -- bailing our criminals ...

and then they reward themselves with bonuses!!

[phasma ex machina]

6. Bank on the world's banker (the American taxpayer) ultimately paying for those Irish bonuses. nt

[rAVES]

13. Don't be ridiculous. it is I the IRISH TAX PAYER who will pay.

God dam american exceptionalists...

[phasma ex machina]

14. Don't be ignorant. The Euro's backstopped by "Blackhawk" Bernanke's printing press.

After WWII the powers-that-be proclaimed Greenbacks AKA US Federal Reserve Notes AKA PetroDollars the world's reserve currency.

[Amonester]

2. It's their New World Order (the BFEE started it).

Basically, it consists of implementing the principles of their 'RRH' (Reversed Robin Hood): rob the poor to give to the rich.

It's spreading world-wide.

[phasma ex machina]

7. .

[msongs]

3. banker criminals are the same everywhere nt

[Swagman]

4. 'Nanny State Corporate Welfare' (Noam Chomsky)

[applegrove]

5. They are money drunk. Somehow the character gene is missing.

[mrdmk]

8. Must be taking lessons from their American counterparts

Unlike citizens of the U.S.A., Ireland citizens are more likely to take to the streets in protest over this transaction...

[aquart]

9. I hope whatever they buy with those bonuses kills them.

I feel extremely unloving in this matter.

[pa28]

10. The need some PR help from our expert apologists on this side of the pond.

You see the bailout money is different money and not fungible money which was contractually obligated to retain the best and brightest who are the only people capable disentangling the mistakes they made to prevent a collapse which would make you destitute and homeless and blah blah blah.

[jannyk]

11. Dear Ireland - welcome to our world. :( eom

[pam4water]

12. At least in Ireland they are protesting in the streets not sitting with their thumbs up there asses.