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Recent Reports

July 21 - Dodd-Frank Is Five: And Still Not Allowed Outside the House
July 15 - Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act: Outlining the Need for Increased Revolving-Door and Reverse Revolving-Door Legislation
January 25 - Continued Concerns With HSBC: Giant Bank Has Been Involved in Several Legal Investigations Since Signing Deferred Prosecution Agreement
More - See All Financial Reform Reports

Reining in Excessive CEO Pay

Fat cat compensation should play no role in responsible corporate performance at taxpayer-guaranteed banks. Prior to the financial crisis, the CEOs of the giant financial institutions that drove our economy off a cliff received exorbitant compensation packages. Corporate officers should be paid for long-term performance, not short-term illusions. Managers of financial firms receiving federal support should be accountable to taxpayers as well as shareholders.

To rein in excessive CEO pay and restore accountability, Public Citizen supports the following reforms:

Withhold bonuses for five years to ensure that the gains from any year will be stable.
Claw back bonuses from results that are later found to be illusory.
End the taxpayer subsidy for pay above $1 million (as a current loophole allows corporations to do for CEO bonus pay).
Empower shareholders by giving them a binding vote on executive pay packages.

Take action

Sign the Petition to Oppose Outrageous Wall Street Pay

More Resources on Executive Compensation

Press Release: Despite State Budget Problems, Weak Economy, Wall Street Execs Reward Themselves Handsomely, February 23, 2011
Fact Sheet: Executive Compensation: Taking Stock (PDF), February 8, 2011
Press Release: SEC Executive Pay Rules Are a Key Step, January 25, 2011
Press Release: ‘Pay Czar’ Kenneth Feinberg Releases Final Executive Compensation Report on Bailed-Out Banks, July 23, 2010
Press Release: Wall Street Is Giving Outrageous a Bad Name, January 11, 2010
Press Release: CEOs Who Steered Economy Off a Cliff Received $28.9 Million Average Annual Salary, New Public Citizen Report Shows, December 14, 2009
Press Release: Obama Pay Cuts a Good Start, but More Is Needed: Congress Should Impose a Windfall Bonus and Profits Tax on Wall Street, October 22, 2009
Press Release: Wall Street Mocks America; Compensation Estimates Highlight Need for Reforms, October 15, 2009

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