Following restrictions on bonuses at banks that have received money from the US government, various organizations have increased salaries by anything up to 100% this year. Unfortunately, the US government is one step ahead of the game.

According to the The Wall Street Journal, US pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg is currently revving up for a clampdown on annual cash salaries at the firms he oversees (including Citigroup and BofA/Merrill Lynch). Following the clampdown, likely to come in mid-October, the 175 most highly paid executives at the firms in question could receive less than 50% of their annual salary in cash. The rest will be paid in stock, and that stock is likely to be deferred.

Given bonuses at banks that have raised salaries will be a) smaller and b) also deferred, this will leave their employees with very little in the way of cash. It’s very much likely to hasten the exit of people from BofA Merrill Lynch, where salaries for managing directors were reportedly doubled in an effort to keep people happy.

Merrill bankers thought they might leave for Morgan Stanley following announcement of Lewis’s departure. (Wall Street Journal)

Bank of America to spend $20m ‘relaunching’ Merrill’s bull logo. (Alphaville)

Credit Suisse hires from Goldman. (Wall Street Journal)

Macquarie hires Citigroup MD as head of European M&A. (Reuters)

Jefferies hires UBS healthcare bankers in London and Mumbai. (Financial News)

RBC, BMO Capital Markets and CIBC World Markets have hired more than 700 investment bankers, analysts and traders in the U.S. and Canada this year. (Bloomberg)

BNP Paribas in commodities push. (Financial Times)

Another high frequency trader may have stolen code from UBS. (Reuters)

European banks need to earn $70bn in additional capital. (Bloomberg)

SocGen plans €4.8bn capital-raising. (Financial Times)

Bloodbath coming in the US banking sector. (Naked Capitalism)

Lloyd Blankfein, his top shirt button undone and tie slightly askew, looked at his computer screen and saw in dismay that his stock price had dropped 22 percent over the past several hours. (Vanity Fair)

Ditching Wall Street to make tequila. (CNN)