The CEOs of the eight banks that received the most bailout money are about to testify before the House Financial Services committee, starting any minute. But the committee has already posted the CEOs’ prepared statements on its website.
Here are some highlights:
Bank of America’s Ken Lewis will say that executive pay and bonuses are intended “to grow our business, enhance profitability and generate returns for investors.” That includes “the investors that are the focus of this hearing: U.S. taxpayers.”
Citigroup’s Vikram Pandit will say that he “removed the people responsible for Citi’s financial distress.”
JP Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon will advocate a new bank regulatory system, which would include a “systemic risk regulator.”
On compensation, Dimon will say:
Our employees worked harder than ever and performed admirably for the company and for clients under enormously challenging conditions in 2008. I believe the compensation we paid them was appropriate.
We’ll be blogging the hearings as they happen, so stay tuned…