A watchdog says the United States Treasury Department disregarded its own guidelines and allowed large pay increases for executives at three firms that had received taxpayer-funded bailouts during the financial crisis.

The Special Inspector General for Troubled Asset Relief Program says Treasury approved 18 raises for executives at American International Group Inc (AIG), General Motors Corp and Ally Financial Inc. Of those requests, 14 were for US$100,000 or more. One raise, for the CEO of a division at AIG, was for $1 million.

The three firms received a combined nearly $250 billion from the bailout fund. Only AIG has fully repaid its $182 billion bailout.

The report says Treasury approved raises that exceeded pay limits and in some cases failed to link compensation to performance.

- AP