Obama may crack the whip on exec pay

Barack Obama will order the Treasury Department to limit executive compensation and dividend payments by financial institutions that get "exceptional assistance" from the financial rescue fund, Larry Summers, a top economic advisor to the president-elect, told Congress.

Summers sent a letter to congressional leaders yesterday outlining the conditions that Obama supports in tapping the second half of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.

"Those receiving exceptional assistance will be subject to tough but sensible conditions that limit executive compensation until taxpayer money is paid back, ban dividend payments beyond de minimis amounts, and put limits on stock buybacks and the acquisition of already financially strong companies," he wrote.