Treasury pay czar: 17 bailed-out banks made $1.6 billion in lavish payments to top executives

Pay czar: 17 bailed-out banks overpaid executives

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department’s pay czar says 17 banks gave their top executives $1.6 billion in lavish payments while they were receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Kenneth Feinberg says he does not have the authority to ask the firms to repay the money that was handed out during the financial crisis. But he says they should develop new rules on compensation that would allow them to slash compensation payments in future crises.

Feinberg issued his findings after reviewing 419 companies that took bailout money before pay curbs were enacted by Congress in February 2009.