Obama to impose $500,000 executive pay ceiling

President Obama on Wednesday will announce a $500,000 cap on compensation for executives of companies receiving government bailout funds, according to the White House.

Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are scheduled to make the announcement Wednesday morning.

{mosads}The White House confirmed news reports that the administration will limit the salaries of executives as well as prohibit them from receiving bonuses above that base pay, with the exception of stock dividends.

The announcement comes on the heels of a report last week by the New York State comptroller that found that Wall Street employees raked in $18.4 billion in bonuses in 2008, the sixth largest in state history.

The report was quickly condemned last week by Obama, who said the bonuses were “shameful.”

“There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses,” Obama said after the report was released. “And that’s a message that I intend to send directly to them, I expect Secretary Geithner to send to them.”

Congress has authorized the use of $700 billion as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program that is intended to support the country’s financial sector.

The White House declined to release further details on the announcement.