Are banking CEO’s paid so much because they have connections and skills of driving up stock prices?

It is not about profitability and normal expectations, but it is about manipulating a entity like AIG or BOA to get higher stock prices. They are able to use connections in many area, like the media and the Fed, to gain favorable ratings and manipulate the stock market. That is the essential problem, however. Enron is an example of what happens when this goes wrong. Now there are many others.