Top officials at Chrysler Financial turned away a government loan because executives didn’t want to abide by new federal limits on pay, according to new findings by a federal watchdog agency. The government had offered a $750 million loan earlier this month as part of its efforts to prop up the ailing auto industry, including Chrysler, which is racing to avoid bankruptcy. Chrysler Financial is a major lender to Chrysler dealerships and customers. In forgoing the loan, Chrysler Financial opted to use more expensive financing from private banks, adding to the burden on the already fragile automaker and its financing company. Chrysler Financial officials denied in a statement that the company’s executives had refused to accept new limits on their pay, adding that the firm turned down the loan because it no longer needed it. But their account conflicts with a report set to be released today by the Treasury’s special inspector general for the federal bailout, saying the executives’ refusal led Treasury to withdraw the loan offer. ‘It was certainly a deal-breaker from Treasury’s perspective,’ said Neil M. Barofsky, the special inspector general, who spoke to the bailout program’s chief compliance officer about the situation […]