[Editor’s note: Obama is set to sign the latest stimulus package today. Congress included restrictions on executive pay. Here’s how it breaks down.]
Republished from The Washington Post.
Originally published: 14 February 2009.
By the Numbers: Executive Pay
The stimulous bill passed by Congress restricts senior executives’ compensation at firms receiving funds from the government’s Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).
$3.65 million > The average CEO’s compensation in 2007 for 196* public companies participating in the government bailout program.
Front page A1 layout featuring this story (view PDF).
Related article:
EXECUTIVE PAY: Congress Trumps Obama by Cuffing Bonuses for CEOs
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Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 14, 2009; Page A01
The stimulus package Congress passed last night imposes new limits on executive compensation that could significantly curb multimillion dollar pay packages on Wall Street and goes much further than restrictions proposed by the Obama administration last week.
The bill, which President Obama is expected to sign into law next week, limits bonuses for executives at all financial institutions receiving government funds to no more than a third of their annual compensation. The bonuses must be paid in company stock that can be redeemed only when the government investment has been repaid. With the measure, lawmakers seek to address public outrage over extravagant Wall Street paydays even as taxpayers bail out the industry.
Unlike the rules issued by the White House, the limits in the stimulus bill would apply to top executives and the highest-paid employees at all 359 banks that have already received government aid.
