Quote from tradersboredom:
these bonuses are the reasons these wall street employeess especially senior manageemnt started to cheat to get the bonuses.
cheat to get bonuses. they lie break rules to get more revenues to get the bonuses.
million dollar plus bonuses in wall street is an incentive to cheat on the balance sheets and taking very risky bets that bankrupt the banks and investment banks.
Most of the people at the bank don't have the ability to influence the balance sheet. While getting a cut of what you earn for the bank does create incentive to take large risks, the whole point of senior management is to protect the shareholders from these shenanigans. Senior management screwed up big time by not being mindful of risk. Now, the government has given them incentive to do it over and over again. If they lose, they'll get a bailout. If they win, they get paid from the winnings.