AIG’s employees return $50M in bonuses

Will the AIG bonus scandal solve itself? Probably not, but the company took a small step to regain public trust this morning when its employees returned $50 million in bonuses. All of the refund came from American recipients, who received a total of $78 million.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who had previously gone to court to disclose the names of bonus recipients, made the announcement in a conference call with reporters today. Per the LA Times:

A week after the disclosure of their bonuses triggered a national uproar over Wall Street compensation, nine of the 10 people who received the biggest payouts, and 15 of the top 20, have agreed to return them, New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

[snip]

“I would like to say this to the individuals who have given the money back: ‘You have done the right thing,’ ” Cuomo said in a statement. “You have done what this country now needs and demands.’ “

– Eric Zimmermann