Exec tripled his pay despite $1.3 bil in losses
by Peter Corbett
Friday, Apr. 24, 2009 at 5:18 AM
Wait a minute! The US Government decided to give companies like this $3 trillion in corporate welfare? Time to go to Washington D.C. with pitch forks and torches and sting the bastards up from light poles!
The top executive of the company that sponsors the FBR Open tripled his compensation last year to $13.8 million despite four straight years of losses totaling $1.3 billion.
Eric Billings, CEO of the Friedman Billings Ramsey Group and FBR Capital Markets, was paid $1.76 million in salary in 2008 and a $2 million retention bonus, according to a company filing Tuesday with the Securities Exchange Commission. Plus, he was paid $8.3 million in stock awards and $1.7 million in option awards last year. He earned $4.19 million in 2007 and $2 million in 2006.
FBR lost $417 million in 2008.
A company spokesman declined comment on the compensation.
The FBR Capital Markets has sponsored the FBR Open in Scottsdale since 2004. During that time, the tournament and the host Thunderbirds have raised more than $33 million for charity.
The investment bank announced that it would no longer sponsor the tournament after the 2010 event.
FBR, which opted out of supporting the tournament through 2012, sustained big losses in the economic downturn.
Its stock price fell to as low as 6 cents from nearly $27 per share five years ago. It closed at 25 cents on Thursday. The FBR Group announced earlier this year that it is changing its name to the Arlington Asset Investment Corp.
www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2009/04/24/20090424biz-fbr0424.html
