The European Commission said today that it would be 'helpful' if EU governments followed the example of the US by limiting executive pay at financial institutions that receive state support.
'The Commission very much welcomes this kind of limit placed on the pay and bonuses of executives,' Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the EU's executive arm, said. 'This kind of limit for executive pay is helpful,' he added.
Such restrictions constitute an additional incentive for banks to repay state bailout money, Todd said, though he added it should be up to individual EU countries to decide on possible limits for bank executives' pay.
US President Barack Obama took on bailed-out Wall Street firms this week, setting a $500,000 annual cap on pay for top executives at companies receiving taxpayer funds and tapping popular anger over financial sector excesses.
