Pay czar to slash salaries at several top gov't-backed firms

Obama's "special master" on pay will order deep cuts in the salaries of top executives of companies on government support on Thursday.

"Pay Czar" Kenneth Feinberg will announce cuts to salaries by an average of 90 percent, according to a variety of reports on the matter.

The cuts come after weeks of piqued outrage against Wall Street firms, which have announced record or recovering profit margins in the wake of the past year's unprecedented government support for the companies.

Feinberg will formally lay out the new pay guidelines during a briefing with reporters on Thursday, but is expected to lay out rules that would significantly rein in the total compensation packages for top officials at financial firms.

The initiative complements other efforts by the Obama administration to restructure regulations on executive compensation more broadly, though the president and congressional leaders have been wary of too stringent of regulations on firms not receiving government support.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that the government "ought to have some say" on compensation for officials at firms on government support, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that large bonuses for Wall Street officials had made her angry.

President Barack Obama had come under scrutiny lately for having raised money from some of those Wall Street officials while pushing new reforms for the companies, as well.