They reward the guys who lead the banks into calamity. Case in point, Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase.

This week, directors, gathered in a conference room at the bank’s Park Avenue headquarters overlooking a snow-covered Central Park, discussed what message their next decision on the bank chieftain’s compensation would send.

The debate pitted a vocal minority of directors who wanted to keep his compensation largely flat, citing the approximately $20 billion in penalties JPMorgan has paid in the last year to federal authorities . . .

I think it’s safe to say if you or I had “managed” our organizations into questionable activities which resulted in huge civil penalties for that behavior we would probably not keep our jobs. Dimon got a $9.5 million raise for similar deeds.

It’s different on Wall Street, huh?