They may not be the number one bank in assets, but in terms of CEO compensation, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) can say they’re number one.
After posting a $17.4 billion profit for 2010, JPMorgan Chase & Co. awarded Chief Executive Jamie Dimon restricted stock and options that could be worth $17 million.
The award is a large part of overall compensation for Dimon, who runs the second-largest U.S. bank by assets. It includes a grant of about $12 million worth of restricted stock, plus options worth about $5 million based on a commonly used valuation method.
By comparison (source, Reuters):
• Goldman Sachs Group (GS) chief Lloyd Blankfein was awarded $12.6 million of restricted stock. His salary more than tripled to $2 million.
• Morgan Stanley (MS) chief James Gorman received stock and option awards that could reach $7.4 million.
• BlackRock (BLK) Chief Executive Laurence Fink got $13 million of restricted stock
• Bank of America Corp. (BAC) said Brian Moynihan was awarded restricted stock units worth up to $9.1 million.
• Citigroup (C) Chief Executive Vikram Pandit’s salary will rise to $1.75 million from $1. Other elements of Pandit’s compensation have not yet been disclosed.
The details of his stock and option awards were released in a Thursday regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Full details on his pay, including salary, any cash bonus and perks, will be released in a proxy filing later this year.
Just two years ago, Dimon and his counterparts were keeping a low profile as news of large pay packages was unwelcome news to a taxpaying public that saw billions of dollars sent to banks such as JPMorgan Chase – a move largely seen as a “bailout” against the complex transactions, such as derivatives, that were a key factor in what turned into a global economic pandemic.
While some of the popular anger has died down, taxpayers have not forgotten the hundreds of billions of dollars that the U.S. government used to prop up the financial sector.
JPMorgan has repaid the $25 billion of bailout funds it took from the U.S. Treasury, and is widely considered to have weathered the crisis better than most other major U.S. banks.
However, earlier this month, at their investor days, Dimon and other JPMorgan executives confirmed a slowdown in trading revenue, litigation tied to mortgages and foreclosure activity, and a $6.4 billion lawsuit over its ties to imprisoned Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff.
Dimon was awarded 251,415 units of restricted stock, half of which vest Jan. 13, 2013, and half a year later, according to the filing.
He was also awarded 367,377 stock appreciation rights with a strike price of $47.73. These rights have a 10-year term and vest in five equal installments, beginning Jan. 19, 2012.
Dimon could lose some of his award, or vesting could be delayed, if he were to be fired, hide important risks or hurt the bank’s reputation, or if JPMorgan’s financial performance were to suffer, the filing shows.
