Two of the three execs lost their jobs after the subprime mortgage market collapsed -- E. Stanley O'Neal of Merrill Lynch (AMEX:BXA) and Charles O. Prince III at Citigroup -- but left with million-dollar buyouts. The third, Countrywide Financial (NYSE:CFC)'s Angelo R. Mozilo presided over the collapse of a company now being acquired by Bank of America.

Surveys indicate U.S. consumers overwhelmingly think business executives are overpaid, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported.

"There seem to be two economic realities operating in our country today," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., House Committee on Oversight and Investigations chairman. "Most Americans live in a world where economic security is precarious and there are real economic consequences for failure. But our nation's top executives seem to live by a different set of rules."

In his opening statement, O'Neal said Merrill's compensation process was appropriate.

"It is true that top executives at public companies in the United States, especially in the financial services industry, are highly compensated," he said. "But a great percentage of that compensation, certainly for me, was and is at risk."