John At The Center

Still, Mr. Buffett did offer one tough general opinion: make sure the bosses of failing banks — and their spouses — pay very, very dearly. “If I was running things, if a bank had to go to the government for help, the C.E.O. and his wife would forfeit all their net worth,” he said. “And that would apply to any C.E.O. that had been there in the previous two years.”

via Buffett Really Wants to Punish Failed Bankers – DealBook Blog – NYTimes.com.

Mr. Buffett said banks needed to change their incentives to executives who were focusing on short-term earnings gains. “It is nice to have carrots, but you need sticks,” he said. “And the stick — the idea that some guy is worth $500 million leaves and only has $50 million left — is not much of a stick as far as I am concerned.”