Bank of America Corp. is changing the way it awards bonuses to investment bankers, in an attempt to tie pay more closely to company performance.
The bonuses that will be awarded this year, for 2009 performance, will generally be about 25 percent in cash and 75 percent tied to stock. The stock-related portion is higher than it's been in previous years, bank spokesman Bob Stickler said Friday, though he said it was difficult to compare the structure to previous years because it can vary across units.
This year, the bank also has instituted "clawbacks" on some bonuses in the investment bank. That allows the bank to reclaim an employee's bonus pay if the employee's bets go sour later, or if the bank discovers that the employee's profits were based on false information.
The changes are in line with popular pressure to tie pay to performance, and fueled in part by anger over the government lending billions to the banking industry, including $45 billion to Bank of America. The Charlotte bank repaid its government aid last month. And it's not awarding bonuses to senior executives for 2009 performance.
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