Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act

Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act

This bill requires the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to claw back compensation paid to certain responsible parties when an insured depository institution or financial company is placed into FDIC receivership. 

Specifically, all or part of the compensation paid the previous five years to an institution-affiliated party substantially responsible for the condition of the institution must be paid to FDIC to prevent unjust enrichment and to assure that the party bears losses consistent with their responsibility. Compensation includes salary, bonuses, awards, and profits from buying or selling securities.

Finally, the bill establishes that an insured depository institution's holding company is liable to the FDIC for payments to insured depositors, the FDIC's receiver costs, and interest when the institution is under FDIC receivership.

Bill 118 hr 2972, also known as the Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act, was introduced in the US Congress with the aim of holding bank executives accountable for the failure of their institutions. The bill proposed that if a bank failed and required a government bailout, the executives responsible for the failure would be required to return a portion of their compensation.

The bill outlined specific criteria for determining which executives would be subject to the clawback provision, including those who were directly involved in the decision-making process that led to the bank's failure. The amount of compensation that would need to be returned was to be determined by a formula based on the severity of the failure and the executive's level of responsibility.

Despite its noble intentions, the bill ultimately failed to pass in Congress. Critics of the bill argued that it would be difficult to enforce and could have unintended consequences, such as deterring talented individuals from taking on leadership roles in the banking industry. Proponents, on the other hand, believed that it was necessary to hold executives accountable for their actions and prevent future financial crises. In conclusion, Bill 118 hr 2972, the Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act, aimed to address the issue of executive accountability in the banking industry but ultimately did not garner enough support to become law. The debate surrounding the bill highlighted the complexities of regulating executive compensation and the challenges of preventing financial misconduct in the banking sector.