Congress Cuffs Bonuses for CEOs in Stimulus Package

Congress Trumps Obama by Cuffing Bonuses for CEOs

By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
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.

"This is a big deal. This is a problem," said Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist for the nation's largest financial services firms. "It undermines the current incentive structure."

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/13/AR2009021303288.html

based on bogus transactions of derivatives known to be valueless?

Because, as Jon Stewart said, "You have no best employees". They failed massively.