Obama’s ire over the excessive bonuses of Wall Street honchos even after the bailout funds came with his government’s regulatory reform calls. Outraged, Obama has recently asked Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner to look for legal means to prevent the payment of multimillion-dollar bonuses to AIG executives who sank the firm.

AIG has pledged $165 million in bonuses to its senior management. Taxpayers’ money recently prevented the collapse of this global financial firm. 80% of the firm is now nationalized.

Obama had stringent words for the company’s attitude, saying, “It is difficult to understand how it is justified to the taxpayer who keeps the enterprise afloat. It is not a question of dollars and cents. We are talking about our core values. Let me be clear that the secretary of the Treasury is working to avoid it.”

When comparing the huge aid received by AIG with many small and medium enterprises that are locked in crisis, Obama said, “Many people are working hard. Many employers are struggling to obtain credit. What this underscores is the need for a comprehensive reform of the financial regulatory system so that we will not find ourselves in this position.”

Soon after he began his presidency, Obama launched a war on the excesses of Wall Street. He has openly criticized the lopsided distribution of material rewards in the financial center of the US, calling Wall Street executives’ bonuses a shameful scandal.

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Via BBC