Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation, released a report today that criticized 17 banks that received federal bailout money. These banks gave executives an excess $1.5 billion in compensation at the crest of the financial crisis, according to the ABC News.

The pay czar urged these institutions to implement policies that would prevent such payouts to happen again in the future. Feinberg investigated the payout policies of 419 banks that received the bailout money before new pay restrictions were put in place in 2009.

Feinberg also urged the executives of big banks' compensation committees to voluntarily place restrictions on their executives should another financial crises take place- reword.

"If the company's board of directors has identified that the firm is in a crisis situation, the compensation committee would have the authority to restructure, reduce or cancel pending payments to executives," Feinberg said in the report, according to the news source.

The federal government's recent investigation into big bank practices are meant to protect consumers, who are saddled with large amounts of debts from credit cards and other industries. According to MSNBC, those who want to reduce their debt should create a budget and limit their use of credit cards.