Financial Roundup: Bank Execs' Billions, Barclays Gets Gulf Cash, AMEX Cuts Jobs and More

Banks owe executives billions — Banks receiving federal bailout money owe executives $40 billion as of the end of 2007. Paying them will be complicated since legislators insist that federal money go for shoring up banks and buying bad assets rather than compensating top executives. [Source: Wall Street Journal ]

BofA sues former Bear Stearns managers — Bank of America is suing three former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers who allegedly claimed two hedge funds they marketing were sound when they were ready to collapse. The suit claims that BofA investors lost $1 billion in the scam. [Source: Directorship.com]

Barclays gets Gulf money — London’s Barclays bank is resisting British government bailout help by selling stock to the Persian Gulf states of Abu Dhabi and Qatar. The two nation-states will buy $11.8 billion worth of stock to help Barclays meet capital requirements. [Source: New York Times]

Accounting changes could make firms list securitized assets — The Financial Accounting Standards Board is considering accounting rule changes that could stick banks for more than $60 billion a year in their bottom lines. FASB may approve rules effective this January that would prohibit the practice of letting companies keep asset-backed securities off their balance sheets. [Source: CFO.com]

American Express to cut jobs — AMEX will cut 7,000 jobs while freezing hiring and manager pay. The credit card company got into trouble when it introduced bank card-style services several years ago. [Source: Wall Street Journal]