Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System from Crisis — and Themselves

by Andrew Ross Sorkin

In truth, although there was a recovery, it was remarkably uneven. By 2009, while Wall Street banks were seemingly minting money again, many individuals and small businesses were forced to declare bankruptcy, and foreclosures were at record numbers. That year, Goldman Sachs paid out $16.2 billion in bonuses, the equivalent of $498,000 per employee. Even troubled firms like Citigroup and Bank of America were successful enough that they hastened to pay back their TARP funds, at least in part so that they, too, could reward their employees with large bonuses without the restrictions imposed if they still owed money to the government.