Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) Going back at least to the Wall Street crash of 1929, improper pay structures have contributed to financial crises in the United States. (2) Widespread financial misconduct led to the 2008 financial crisis, which caused the Great Recession. Compensation structures incentivized executives and employees to pursue short-term profits without regard for long-term risks to their firms or the broader financial system. While culpable employees and executives continued to receive extraordinary pay, homeowners, workers, and communities paid the price for their greed and recklessness. (3) As seen in the 2023 banking failures, misaligned incentives within the financial sector continue to fail to hold executives and their senior employees accountable for their actions. Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker enjoyed millions of dollars in incentive-based bonuses, while his bank mismanaged risks and failed to respond to regulator’s warnings. In the hours before the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, managers paid themselves millions of dollars for what they deemed to be superior performance. (4) Employees in the financial sector continue to walk away with generous bonuses while their firms break the law and undermine the stability of the financial system. Compensation incentives that promote inappropriate risk-taking are a threat to economic security.