We're seeing a lot of new executive pay ideas being floated, as more boards grapple with the likelihood of new laws and more intense scrutiny by boards. Already, Wall Street firms are making some moves. Morgan Stanley for example seems to be shifting more toward salaries as well as making other changes that include clawback provisions as well as vesting over greater lengths of time. These are the type of changes we should expect. Another firm took the giant step of paying bonuses in the form of shares in a fund holding toxic assets.

Reuters notes some other ideas. Some argue that a bank executive's pay should be tied to all of the bank's assets, not just to equity. Another idea comes from the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp., which pays bonuses tied to the company's credit rating and whether it maintains at least an A-plus rating on its senior secured debt. You can bet that compensation committees are actively considering their options. It seems reasonable to move away from stock options alone as a bonus tool. 

For more:
- here's the article [1]

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