Thursday, March 19, 2009

Obama Envoy Holbooke was on the AIG Board in 2008?

It seems that this guy was on the Board of Directors at the exact time when these AIG traders were filling up at the risk buffet and plowing this company into the ground?

Holbrooke, a veteran diplomat who is now the administration's point man on Pakistan and Afghanistan, served on the board between 2001 and mid-2008.

During that period, AIG undertook the aggressive investment strategies that led to a near-collapse and forced a multibillion-dollar federal bailout.

However, it seems that AIG approved these bonuses in the first quarter of 2008.

This information included that $165 million in payments were expected that very month, as well as the fact that the contracts were in place in the first quarter of 2008, and so not covered by the limitations in the stimulus bill as articulated by an amendment to the stimulus bill offered by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

So technically Holbrooke was on the AIG board when these things were approved. Lucky thing is that he wasn't on the compensation committee at that time or he would need to do some serious explaining. He seemed to be on the social responsibility committee at that time so he would be more involved with charitable giving and that sort of thing.

The problem is that board members have access to almost all of the information at a large corporation. I guess he was just too busy to get a handle on compensation at AIG. He also was pretty lucky to have gotten off of the AIG train a couple quarters before it wrecked as well. I wonder how underwater his stock options that he got while a board member are?

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