US treasury freezes top executive pay at three TARP-assisted companies
07 Apr 2012
The treasury department announced yesterday that it had frozen the pay of top executives at the three firms still under "exceptional assistance" from Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TARP).
The firms -- AIG, Ally Financial and GM were all recipients of the government's bailout funds during the financial crisis, but had to yet fully repay the funds.
It is the second straight year of the step being taken by the government's special master for TARP compensation, Patricia Geoghegan.
The special inspector had been given oversight of top salaries at bailed-out firms as public outrage ran high over how taxpayer dollars were being used during the financial crisis.
For 2012, each CEO's pay would be frozen at last year's levels, amid limited cash compensation with the bulk of CEO earnings tied to performance, in the form of stock.
The pay freeze would come as a particularly tough measure for management at GM, which earlier this year reported very strong profits. (See: GM posts largest profit in 103 years in 2011)
