Geithner says firms making major changes on pay

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (R) engages with reporters during the 2009 Reuters Washington Summit in Washington, October 20, 2009.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Financial firms are making "very significant changes" in how they structure their pay, but more needs to be done, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

Geithner said the multi-million dollar bonuses being paid out at firms that had received bailout funds is "deeply offensive."

"There is anger people feel," Geithner said at the Reuters Washington Summit. "The frustration they have is completely understandable."

He said some firms are already adopting changes to ensure that pay in the future is tied more closely to performance, that employees who "screw up" have their pay clawed back, and that workers aren't given multi-year guaranteed bonuses.

"I think there actually has been very significant changes already in how people are creating compensation packages" because of the administration's reform efforts, Geithner said. "I don't think they've gone far enough yet."

He also said that the Fed will propose its sweeping rules to reform pay at banks "relatively soon."

(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski, editing by Anthony Boadle)