Morgan Stanley boosts salaries, sign of times?

May 26, 2009 | By Jim Kim

There's a lot of new thinking going on across Wall Street when it comes to executive pay. You might think that the looming payback of TARP funds would have lessened the imperative. But beyond the TARP restrictions there is looming legislation--we'll likely get a glimpse soon--that will change the executive compensation dynamic dramatically.

At Morgan Stanley, the base salaries of some top executives--including James Gorman and Walid Chammah--have been boosted to $800,000, Reuters reports. But total compensation will stay the same. The idea seems to be a shift toward higher salaries and less bonuses.

But $800,000 is really a drop in the bucket at this level. It will hardly be enough to make a top executive of a top investment bank want to stay. But it does suggest we'll see some new thinking. We'll see what the new regulations require, but most banks should be bracing for big change. We'll have more to say about this later.

For more:
- here's the Reuters article