Banks, Executive Pay | featured news

The new head of UBS's investment bank Andrea Orcel received a $26m (£17m; 20m euros) "golden hello" in 2012, the bank's annual report has revealed. Mr Orcel is in the process of overhauling the investment business, with 2,000 job losses expected.

Shareholders of Citigroup rejected a board-approved pay package for CEO Vikram Pandit and other top executives, sending a loud and clear message that executive compensation needs to be tied to performance, or else.

Taxpayers won't foot the bill for raises for the chief executives at any of the four firms—GM, Chrysler, AIG, Ally Financial—still receiving assistance under the federal bank bailout.

A federal watchdog criticized federal regulators' oversight of executive pay packages for top officials at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a report published Thursday. The top six executives at the mortgage giants earned $35 million in the last two years, according to the report from the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates the mortgage giants.