[classicman]

Not just the finance industry. Bonuses are common in many others as well. In this case they were retention payments, not bonuses. That buzzword created all this outrage over virtually nothing. There are many more and much larger payments scheduled in other organizations.
Everyone knew these were on the books. There were no surprises, just a bunch of bureaucrats covering their asses when the public got outraged.

Look to Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, both in charge of oversight on these matters. Certainly they have all the answers to the whys and hows of all this. After all, thats what we pay them for. If they pull their collective heads out of their asses long enough, just ask them.