WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury Department has selected Patricia Geoghegan to replace Kenneth Feinberg as the "pay czar" overseeing compensation at companies bailed out by the government.
Geoghegan, who has been working with the pay czar office for about a year, will oversee the pay practices at American International Group Inc, General Motors Co, Chrysler Group LLC and Ally Financial, according to the Treasury Department.
Other companies such as Bank of America and Citigroup were released from the office's jurisdiction after repaying taxpayer money.
Feinberg left the post to administer BP Plc's $20 billion oil spill fund.
The office that Geoghegan, 63, takes over was established during the financial crisis to ensure that bailed-out companies were not using taxpayer money to pay out excessive bonuses.
Many of the companies have chafed under the scrutiny, arguing it hobbled them against private sector competitors not subject to similar restraints.
Geoghegan previously was a lawyer at Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP in New York for 33 years.
(Reporting by Dave Clarke; Editing by Gary Hill)
