US President Barack Obama has said executives of financial institutions taking government bail-outs would have their salaries limited to $500,000.
Speaking at the White House, President Obama said that if these executives received anything extra, it would be in the form of shares, and could not be paid until taxpayers were repaid.
He also said the US Treasury would next week announce a new strategy designed to free up frozen US credit markets.
'What gets people upset are executives being rewarded for failure, especially when those rewards are subsidised by US taxpayers,' President Obama said.
'For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste - it's a bad strategy and I will not tolerate it as president,' he added.
Additionally, all banks must submit to tougher restrictions on 'golden parachute' severance payments and new transparency rules on corporate jets, office renovations and entertainment and holiday parties.
The measures follow a string of press reports about executives who accepted bloated corporate compensation, spent millions renovating offices and abused corporate aviation services.
