In a report on the $168 million bonus pay out to employees of federally subsidized insurance giant AIG, Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP) Neil Barofsky writes that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's

...lack of knowledge until the eve of the payment of the bonuses represents a failing at both FRBNY [Federal Rserve Bank of New York] and Treasury to identify adequately the significance of an issue that had been identified as one that would "not easy for the Fed and Treasury to defend" and to inform their leadership.

Entitled "Extent of Federal Agencies' Oversight Of AIG Compensation Varied, And Important Challenges Remain," the report highlights a series of missteps by Treasury and FRBNY that led to

...significant concerns over reports of AIG making approximately $168 million in retention award payments to a large group of its employees at AIGFP. Questions quickly surfaced over such payments being made by a company receiving large-scale government financial assistance, and in particular, payments to staff at AIGFP, the group whose financial losses largely had led to the need for federal assistance. Questions also arose concerning the extent to which Federal officials had advance knowledge of the payments and whether those payments complied with executive compensation restrictions that had been imposed on AIG as a condition of its assistance from Treasury.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee: Opening Statement, Witness Testimony and Webcast for the Hearing Titled: "AIG Bonuses: Report of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program."

Bloomberg: Treasury Failed to Monitor AIG Bonuses, Watchdog Says

AP: Geithner 'ultimately responsible' for failed AIG oversight, bailout watchdog says