State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has sent a letter to the eight big financial firms that received taxpayer bailout money, demanding information on executive compensation.

The banks include Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and others.

In particular, Cuomo wants to know how bonuses would have been affected had the banks not received bailout money, and he says he wants to see bonuses tied to incentives that promote long-term sustainable growth, not just short-term profit.

“Do the taxpayers deserve a bonus for this profitability? Did the taxpayers take a risk by putting in the TARP money? And where’s the return on the taxpayer’s dollar, for the taxpayer’s risk?” Cuomo asked.

Those eight banks have essentially paid back the bailout money and are once again highly profitable.

They have until February 8th to respond to the attorney general’s request.

Cuomo is seen as increasingly likely to run for governor this year, taking on Governor David Paterson in a Democratic primary. But Cuomo was not asked any off-topic questions in today’s conference call.

Source: NY1