Bernanke backs clamp down on pay

The White House and Federal Reserve moved Thursday to clamp down on executive pay at companies bailed out by taxpayers and at financial firms thriving during the recession.

President Barack Obama’s pay czar announced he would be slashing the salaries of 175 executives at seven companies that have yet to pay back bailout money in the past year.

Hours later, the Federal Reserve board said bank regulators would begin reviews of top banks’ compensation and use its regulatory authority to demand changes to excessive pay packages.

“We believe in success,” Obama said. “But it does offend our values when executives of big financial firms — firms that are struggling — pay themselves huge bonuses, even as they continue to rely on taxpayer assistance to stay afloat.”