Compensation Report: Declining Executive Pay?

Our use of “declining” above is indeed a double entendre – pay is declining and some are declining to be paid.  The Wall Street Journal reports that Congress is considering compensation limits for firms who partake in the federal bailout – limits which include no bonuses for executives making more than $200,000 and no “golden parachutes”. Meanwhile, several firms, including Barclays, Goldman Sachs and UBS are not paying-out bonuses to their highest paid executives and UBS is changing its bonus structure to reward long term performance. Are the days of fat bonuses for MBAs over? Not likely, because there will always be competition for those who have the rare ability to make money for otherrs, but the times are definitely changing.