Now that’s rich!
John Liu, the city’s embattled chief fiscal officer whose own campaign fund-raising is under federal investigation, won’t stand for “unethical conduct” among three of Wall Street’s leading firms.
“No one should profit or be rewarded with bonuses when engaged in improper or unethical behavior,” Liu said in a news release yesterday.
Liu, who oversees the city’s five public pension funds, called on Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley to be more aggressive in rescinding big-dollar bonuses from execs found to have acted “improperly.”
The companies declined to comment. But Liu’s critics couldn’t believe the comptroller’s nerve.
“This guy, at this point in time, I don’t think he’s in any position to criticize anybody in the financial industry,” said Greg Floyd, a pension-board member and president of the Teamsters Local 237. “One doesn’t know what goes through his mind at any given time.”
Liu timed yesterday’s release to coincide with Wall Street’s Christmas-bonus season.
The comptroller made his pitch as part of “shareholder proposals” to the boards of the three firms. He is authorized to make such recommendations as the official responsible for the city’s $120 billion pension systems that rank among the biggest institutional investors in the companies.
Liu has been under a cloud for weeks since the feds charged a top fund-raiser of his with using straw donors to bypass campaign-finance rules.
In the wake of that arrest, questions have been raised about contracts awarded by Liu’s office, the role his top political adviser plays in Liu’s official business, and why the comptroller gave out a series of raises to 126 of his staffers while the city is in the middle of a colossal budget crisis.