Obama to limit salaries for CEOs of banks receiving bailout funds; North Shore Bank to open Mequon branch
Obama to limit salaries for CEOs of banks receiving bailout funds
Last week, President Barack Obama introduced rules limiting compensation paid to executives at financial institutions receiving "exceptional assistance" from the government in the future to $500,000.
Any additional compensation must be made in restricted stock that can’t be vested until taxpayers are repaid, Obama said. Banks receiving help through the bailout program also will face new prohibitions on "golden parachutes" for executives, Obama said.
In addition, banks participating in the bailout package in the future will face more stringent transparency rules on expenses such as aviation services, holiday parties and office renovations.
The restrictions do not apply to banks that already received funding in the first round of bailouts by the Bush administration.
Obama said the new executive salary limits will be followed next week by the unveiling of a sweeping new framework for spending what remains of the $700 billion financial industry bailout that Congress created last year.
"This is America. We don’t disparage wealth. We don’t begrudge anybody for achieving success," Obama said. "But what gets people upset – and rightfully so – are executives being rewarded for failure. Especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers."
North Shore Bank to open Mequon branch
North Shore Bank will open a full-service branch in Mequon this summer.
The branch, to be located in a shopping center now under construction at 10800 N. Port Washington Road, will be the bank’s 44th overall and its second in Ozaukee County.
The bank opened a temporary branch in Grafton last fall and anticipates finishing construction of its permanent Grafton branch this spring.
"Ozaukee County has proven to be an outstanding location for North Shore Bank, and it makes good business sense to expand our presence here with a new branch in Mequon," said Darrel Eisenhardt, North Shore Bank’s vice president of branch administration. "Our Grafton office is doing extremely well, and we look forward to serving even more Ozaukee County customers who prefer doing business with a strong, locally owned, community-focused institution like North Shore Bank."
Headquartered in Brookfield, North Shore Bank has assets of nearly $1.9 billion.