Senate unveils remuneration regulator

The upper house of the US Congress has presented a bill to create a body to oversee executive remuneration.

The Senate Banking Committee (SBC) has announced a bill to reform the way in which the country's financial services industry is overseen, which will create a regulator similar to the Financial Services Authority in the UK.

This proposal for reform has been made in light of the worst financial crisis witnessed since the 1930s in the US, which was caused by accountability failures in the country's banking sector.

During this period, executives of US corporations have seen elements of their remuneration increase - such as a 19 per cent rise in pensions - despite the wider economic malaise.

Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the SBC, explained that current market conditions require policy-leaders and regulators that are "not timid".

He said: "The financial crisis exposed a financial regulatory structure that was the product of historic accident, created piece by piece over decades with little thought given to how it would function as a whole."