Another exec beneficiary of loan writeoff
I wish I could have my loan to my last company paid back just like these professional managers get their loans from their companies written off as reported in this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
In the SEC filing, Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., characterized the $15 million as an advance given to Mr. Belluzzo against the value of stock options he was given in 1999 and 2000. The loan represented the "minimum benefit" Mr. Belluzzo would receive by exercising those options at a later date, Microsoft said. The options allowed Mr. Belluzzo to buy 3.5 million Microsoft shares.
At today's depressed stock prices, however, all of those options are worthless now. So Microsoft said it would cancel the options and, in turn, forgive the loan and its interest. A Microsoft spokeswoman noted that the original loan agreement with Mr. Belluzzo did include some provisions that would allow forgiving the loan, under certain circumstances. The spokeswoman added that Microsoft thinks the loan was "appropriate and necessary," noting that "Mr. Belluzzo's compensation package was developed at a time when the market for senior executives was hyper-competitive."