国际英语新闻：U.S. major banks pay over $30 bln in bonuses amid bailout

NEW YORK, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., and seven other U.S. major banks paid over 30 billion U.S. dollars in bonuses in while receiving taxpayer money, New York's attorney general said Thursday in a report.

    Citigroup, which received 45 billion dollars in government money, gave employees 5.33 billion dollars in bonuses for 2008, according to the report from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office.

    The report, which focused on 2008 bonuses paid to the banks that received loans under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) last fall.

    Bank of America Corp., which also received 45 billion dollars in TARP money, paid 3.3 billion dollars in bonuses, with 172 employees receiving at least 1 million dollars while 28 employees received bonuses of more than 3 million dollars.

    Merrill Lynch, which Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America acquired during the credit crisis, paid out 3.6 billion. The former third-largest investment bank gave 149 of its workers at least 3 million dollars in bonuses.

    JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which have already repaid TARP funds they received, paid out the most bonuses of more than 1 million dollars, the report said.