Neither Chairman and CEO John Thain nor any of his top management team will receive bonuses in 2008.
Merrill Lynch issued a statement late Monday saying its compensation committee had accepted a request from Thain and four other executive officers to not receive bonuses for the year.
The other Merrill Lynch executives to forego bonuses will be President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Fleming, Chief Financial Officer Nelson Chai, President of Global Wealth Management Robert McCann and General Counsel Rosemary Berkery.
The move comes amid earlier reports that Thain was pushing for a bonus of up to $10 million, a report that drew fire from New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. In a letter to Merrill's board of directors, Cuomo called a $10 million bonus "unjustified" in light of the financial crisis and the company's performance this year.
"Current reports that the board is considering giving Merrill's Chief Executive Officer a $10 million bonus are nothing less than shocking," the Cuomo letter said.
Merrill Lynch is not among the companies that received a portion of the federal government's financial system rescue package. Bank of America, the company that has purchased Merrill's assets, did receive funds.
The attorney general was careful to say that he was not making disparaging the abilities of the Merrill CEO, but that his goal was protecting taxpayer money. Cuomo pointed out that Bank of America has received about $25 billion in money from the federal government's financial relief fund.
"It is imperative that Merrill's Board prevent wasteful expenditures of corporate funds on outsized executive bonuses and other unjustified compensation," Cuomo's letter stated.
Last week, Bank of America said there would not be a position for Thain on the board of directors of the combined company. Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lunch creates the nation's largest bank, with $2.7 trillion in Assets.
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