U.S. banks and securities firms would have to step up their compensation disclosures under rules being considered by the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The rules are in the formative stages and would not take effect for some time. The Fed's push ultimately could give investors large amounts of new data on how and when companies pay their employees—including scarce numbers on how much compensation has been promised but not yet paid out. The consideration comes as Wall Street, under pressure to curb risk-taking and reduce costs, embraces so-called deferred pay as never before. Morgan Stanley last month deferred the entire annual bonuses of thousands of high-paid employees, meaning they will not finish collecting their 2012 pay until 2016.
