(CBS/AP) The squeeze on big paydays for executives of bailed-out banks will probably leave Wall Street plenty of wiggle room.
Consultants on executive pay say the caps imposed by President Obama on Wednesday will probably apply only to a few executives - not star traders, brokers and salespeople who routinely earn whopping pay packages.
Others note Wall Street typically finds ways to exploit loopholes and figure this time will be no different.
“You've got a lot of people on Wall Street who are not executives but still make extremely big salaries,” said Mark Borges, a principal at compensation consulting firm Compensia Inc. “I suspect this doesn't impact them at all.”
The new rules require banks that receive “exceptional assistance” from the government to cap salaries, including cash bonuses, at $500,000 for senior executives.
If those firms wanted to pay their executives more, they would have to use stock that couldn't be sold until the bank had repaid the bailout money. The rules apply only to the future, not to banks that have already received bailout money.
Since the rules are not retroactive, they won't affect Bank of America, which has already received $45 billion in bailout funds. Its CEO Ken Lewis earned more than $5 million in salary and cash bonuses in 2007 - and another $14 million in stock options and other income, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason.
Nor will it affect Wells Fargo, which has received $25 billion in TARP money, Mason adds. Its CEO John Stumpf took home more than $11 million in salary, bonus and stock.