Subject: File No. S7-12-11
From: Kelly Kirkland

May 27, 2011

Elizabeth Murphy
100 F Street, NE
Washington, DC 20549

Dear Murphy,

I'm one of millions of Americans who has paid dearly in the recession caused by irresponsible risk-taking by Wall Street executives.

I work for a small, women-owned green building consulting company which had been expanding rapidly in 2007. When the recession hit, we had to lay off three very talented recent hires. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to stop the bleeding. Our entire company had our salaries cut 20% and our insurance premiums increased. It's been almost 18 months now. In that time my husband has been in-and-out of work. Before the recession we were already cutting back on discretionary spending to invest heavily in our retirement savings and with my reduced income we've had to cut that back significantly, too just to cover our mortgage and other essentials. What's really sad is that we're the lucky ones. I have friends who are teachers who've lost their jobs and, subsequently, their homes, for lack of work. My parents lost a significant amount of their retirement savings.

The worst part is knowing that the people who profited off the crash are continuing to put away obscene amounts of money. For their choice to make big risks that failed, they should also have to lose big.

Those executives took those risks because they knew that they could walk away with billions of dollars in bonuses and stock options and never pay for the long-term consequences of their actions. We need tough rules so that Wall Street pay packages don't encourage short-term risk taking.

Your rules should require at least a five year deferral period for executive bonuses at big banks, ban executive hedging of their pay packages, and require specific details from banks on precisely how they ensure that executives will share in the long-run risks created by their decisions. It should apply to the full range of important financial institutions, and draw in all the key executives at those companies.

Once this rule is passed, only you will know the details of its enforcement. But it's important for the public to know the progress you are making on this vital issue. You should report back to the public annually with a detailed report on progress in creating accountability for Wall Street pay.

Referencing Docket No.'s:

OTS:   RIN 155-AC49
OCC:  RIN 1557-AD39
Fed:    RIN 7100-AD69
SEC:   RIN 3235-AL06
FHFA: RIN 2590-AA42
FDIC:  RIN 3064-AD56

Sincerely,

Kelly Kirkland

Seattle, WA 98126