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The banks were given more than $160 billion in taxpayer money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to help support their struggling firms and spur consumer lending.
But executives have been accused of squandering some of the money on lavish executive pay and other luxuries.
Recent reports said U.S. financial firms paid about $18 billion in bonuses last year as the companies were asking for financial help to avoid bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is facing questioning from U.S. senators, who are seeking more details about his plan to reform the bailout program.
Geithner unveiled a new plan Tuesday to inject up to $2 trillion into the financial sector to help improve credit markets.
The plan was greeted with skepticism by lawmakers and investors, and stocks around the world plummeted after Geithner's announcement.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters. By VOA News
Posted February 11th, 2009 by Armen Hareyan
