But the retention argument is a self-fulfilling prophecy based on cultural expectations and inertia to change the system, some say. Banks’ sole points of reference are one another. There are no set criteria, as there are in professions that have unions, and arguing that pay is based on performance can’t hold true anymore.

“It’s easier to justify your big salary if your peers have big salaries as well,” Feingold says.

It remains to be seen how Feinberg will implement any compensation changes and how radical they will be. The government seems to be in a catch-22: trying to quell public frustration while not causing large worker defections from certain banks.

According to Cuomo’s report, within the nine original TARP banks, 4,793 employees received more than $1 million in bonus payments, including 1,626 employees getting at least $1 million at JPMorgan; 953 at Goldman Sachs; 738 at Citi, and 696 at Merrill Lynch.

Feingold says that if a group of banks were to agree to lower salaries, the rest would follow suit. “It’s a system that has never been challenged,” he argues. “It’s just accepted, the same way Hollywood’s star system is.”