Yesterday, we noted a report in the Wall Street Journal that Merrill Lynch’s top ten execs were each paid more than $10 million last year. The ten made slightly more than the top ten earners for 2007, despite the company’s collapse last year.
Now, the Journal follows up by reporting that several of those execs have been subpoenaed in New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s investigation into Merrill’s awarding of billions in bonuses.
Among the group are Andrea Orcel, who was Merrill’s top investment banker, Thomas Montag, who led global sales and trading, and Peter Kraus, who ran strategy. They all now work at Bank of America, which took over Merrill after its collapse.
Another of the top ten, former Merrill CEO John Thain, has already spoken to Cuomo’s investigators.
Bank of America, whose role in the bonus fiasco is also being scrutinized by Cuomo, filed a court petition yesterday to try to keep the pay information secret. B of A CEO Ken Lewis reportedly refused to answer investigators’ questions on the subject when he met with them last week.
