unfortunately, I believe that this is one area where government oversight will be necessary.

They should set up a compensation committee... the more you sell to the government, the more oversight you get... the better the assets you sell do, the more freedom you get... the worse, the less.

If you earn $10mm and want to give it to shareholders and executives, but the assets you sold have done poorly, you have to add some of that earnings to increase your capital position/decrease your leverage. If you earn money and the assets you sold do well, then you can more freely distribute your earnings.

I mean, if we're bailing you out and you really have good assets, just bad prices... then you shouldn't be hit as hard as someone who made bad decisisions to begin with, right?

IMO, a significant portion of the bonuses should be in the form of a 2-5 year deferred comp with a claw back... again, based on the performance of the assets you sold.