U.S. House panel sets March 8 hearing on CEO pay

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said on Wednesday the panel will hold a hearing on executive compensation on March 8.

The hearing is part of Frank's plan to prepare legislation to strengthen the role of shareholders in setting pay packages for corporate officers.

"I agree with President (George W.) Bush that excessive executive compensation has become a problem, but disagree with his view that we should do nothing about it," Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement. "I hope to move legislation that addresses the issue."

The announcement of the hearing came on the same day that disability insurer Aflac Inc. (AFL.N) became the first major U.S. company to allow shareholders a nonbinding vote on how much executives should be paid ID:nN14288152. Labor unions, public pension funds and shareholder advocacy groups have urged companies to adopt such actions because of soaring paychecks given to some top executives.

The Financial Services Committee did not identify who would testify at the March hearing.

Last month, Frank told Reuters he hoped to pass a bill by mid-2007 giving shareholders a bigger say in setting executive pay and a vote on "claw-back" provisions that would let a company retrieve pay from an executive under certain circumstances.