Thain's Bonus Rage

The storm may be far from settled, but former-Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain is already speaking out. When Thain was fired in January, he was painted as the person responsible for distributing huge bonuses while his company posted major losses–but now he’s saying he’s unfairly been made into a scapegoat. Thain says that he and Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis signed an agreement authorizing early bonuses at Merrill Lynch, before the acquisition closed. Says Thain: “The suggestion Bank of America was not heavily involved in this process, and that I alone made these decisions, is simply not true.” He continued, “Getting fired is one thing. But nobody has the right to say things that they know aren't true.”