Wall Street is taking a page from professional sports by offering its stars huge bonuses for sparkling performance — only the goal is getting an influential job in the federal government instead of hitting home runs or throwing touchdowns.
Antonio Weiss is the latest example of this process, according to the Project on Government Oversight. He was nominated by President Obama recently as under-secretary of treasury for domestic finance, a job that has a great deal of influence on how Wall Street conducts business.
Financial disclosure forms submitted by Weiss show “how a Wall Street firm can reward an executive who moves into a powerful government position where he can help shape regulatory policy and affect the fortunes of the financial industry,” said POGO, which is a nonprofit government watchdog group.
“In certain circumstances, when the government hires Wall Street veterans, it allows them to receive accelerated financial rewards from their long-term pay plans that would normally mature (or “vest”) over time,” POGO said.
According to POGO, in the case of Weiss, moving into the job at the Treasury Department will enable him to reap:
Officials at the White House, Lazard and the Treasury Department all declined to comment when asked by POGO.
Weiss is Lazard’s global head of investment banking, a position he has held since 2009. The firm, which opened its doors in 1848, is a Wall Street giant, describing itself as “the world’s leading independent financial advisory and asset management firm.”
When he nominated Weiss, Obama said, “I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America, and I am grateful for their service. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”
Weiss is hardly unique in reaping huge rewards for moving from Wall Street in New York to 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
POGO has previously reported on such moves by executives at Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Citigroup.
And last year, when Obama nominated former Citigroup executive Jack Lew to be Treasury Secretary, Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weill reported that, “Lew’s employment agreement with Citigroup said his ‘guaranteed incentive and retention award’ wouldn’t be paid if he quit his job, with limited exceptions.
“One was if he left Citigroup ‘as a result of your acceptance of a full-time high level position with the United States government or regulatory body.’ This applied if he left ‘prior to the payment of any incentive and retention award for performance year 2008 or thereafter.”
Go here for the full report from POGO.
Mark Tapscott is executive editor of the Washington Examiner.
