Last week, I talked about Merrill Lynch's appalling reward for failure when it sent former chief executive Stanley O'Neal with $160 million-plus in handouts after plunging the bank into its biggest loss for years.

Now it turns out that payment is only the fifth biggest exit pay package, according research from the Corporate Library published in Bloomberg. Exxon Mobil's former head honcho Lee Raymond tops the list with a $351 million payout, followed by ex-Pfizer Inc. CEO Hank McKinnell at $213 million.

The handouts have spurred talk about the Senate moving to give shareholders more of a say to rein in executive pay. Still, the view from the lawmakers is by no means unanimous so there's still a lot of debate to be had. Let's watch this space.