The New York Stock Exchange will publish a confidential report which details how former chairman Mr Richard Grasso amassed a controversial $188.5 million pay package if the courts require, NYSE head Mr John Thain said today.
Yesterday, New York State Justice Charles Ramos said NYSE lawyers must hand over the report to Mr Grasso's legal team, rejecting the NYSE's argument that the report was privileged information.
"If, in the end, the judge requires that we make it public, we will make it public," Mr Thain, chairman and chief executive officer of the NYSE, told reporters on the sidelines of an economic summit in the Swiss resort town of Davos.
Legal experts have said that the NYSE's refusal to hand over the Webb report up to now may be because they feared it would be made public.
The report is named after Chicago lawyer Mr Dan Webb, who the exchange commissioned to investigate the circumstances behind Mr Grasso's pay.
Mr Grasso was ousted in September 2003 after a furious public outcry over his compensation package.
Last year New York State Attorney General Mr Eliot Spitzer sued Mr Grasso in an effort to recoup at least $100 million, charging that the package was against New York State's not-for-profit laws.
The Webb report formed the cornerstone of many of Mr Spitzer's charges against Mr Grasso.