Photo via nathangibbs.

Anyone want to hazard a guess on whether Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack will get asked about this at today’s banker hearing?  

Via Sam Stein:

The soon-to-be-merged financial giants — Morgan Stanley and Citigroup’s Smith Barney — announced the payments during an internal conference call last week, but warned advisers against describing them in terms that would cause PR headaches.

"There will be a retention award. Please do not call it a bonus," said James Gorman, co-president of Morgan Stanley. "It is not a bonus. It is an award. And it recognizes the importance of keeping our team in place as we go through this integration."

This is like "new math," but with visual aids. Lots of lovely Benjamins for visual aids.

I get that people are having massive job security anxiety and that bonuses in the financial sector are a normal part of compensation calculations for a lot of folks.  But coming up with a new name for it?  Doesn’t make it any less of a retention bonus.  Or a performance bonus.  Or whatever other reason you might be handing out that…bonus.

Honesty and integrity truly are a lost art, aren’t they?