Report: Banks Bypassed Bailout Salary Restrictions

WASHINGTON (AP) - A watchdog says bank executives and Treasury officials pressured a top government official to allow banks to bypass pay restrictions established in the $700 billion bailout.

The deputy special inspector general for the bailout says in a report that pay czar Kenneth Feinberg approved salaries for five executives in excess of the $500,000 limit. Feinberg also approved pay packages, which included stock and other forms of compensation, worth $5 million or more for 49 executives, the report says.

Treasury wanted banks to pay competitive salaries so they could keep top executives and be in shape to repay the bailouts, the report says.