SEC seeks more executive-pay data

The Securities and Exchange Commission this year required vastly expanded disclosure from most public companies on pay for their top executives. In the last week, the agency has been faxing requests for even more information from 300 of the largest companies.

The SEC is seeking more details on how the firms arrived at the compensation packages.

Although lawyers and consultants weren’t saying which of their clients got the letters, “if you were to look at the Fortune 100, you can probably assume that one-third of the companies, maybe more, got these letters,” said Mark Borges, principal at Mercer Human Resource Consulting in Washington.

General Electric Co., Schering-Plough Corp. and Prudential Financial Inc. confirmed they had received letters.

“The dollar disclosure is clearer than ever,” SEC spokesman John Nester said. “The narrative explaining the reasons behind those packages could stand some improvement.”