AIG will pay over $400 million in bonuses and retention pay this year and next. Much of this year’s went to the AIG Financial Products subsidiary in London which was one of the major players in derivatives and the collapse of the global economy.

AIG told the Treasury . . .

any steps that encourage specialists at AIG Financial Products to leave could open the US Government to further risk because of the hazards still posed by the $1.6 trillion portfolio of complex derivatives these employees are working to dispose.

Edward Liddy, CEO AIG

Not only do we have AIG paying bonuses after receiving cash and commitments for more than $170 billion from you and me, we have bonuses being paid to retain employees whose primary job right now is probably shredding documents.

Liddy is “gravely” concerned that AIG won’t be able to retain talented staff. Seeing as how the “talented staff” and the derivative trading brought AIG to the brink, I don’t think he needs to worry about retaining them. He should have fired them and dared them to sue. But then that would require initiative, actual leadership and a sense of justice. Not much of that around today in the financial world.

And the beat goes on, the beat goes on.