JPMorgan boosts CEO Dimon's annual pay 3.7% to US$28m

[NEW YORK] JPMorgan Chase & Co gave chief executive officer Jamie Dimon a US$1 million raise after the bank's stock climbed 31 per cent last year.

Mr Dimon, who's also chairman, got a US$28 million compensation package for 2016, or 3.7 per cent more than a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing Thursday. It includes US$21.5 million in performance shares tied to future goals, a US$5 million cash bonus and USUS$1.5 million in salary.

Under Mr Dimon, 60, JPMorgan became the most valuable US lender by market capitalisation last year, taking the crown from Wells Fargo & Co, which stumbled because of a scandal tied to bogus customer accounts. JPMorgan, also the biggest US bank by assets, boosted revenue and cut expenses in 2016, helping it produce a record annual profit of US$24.7 billion. The firm has posted record profits in six of the past seven years.

The stock rose 6.1 per cent last year before Donald Trump's victory in November's US presidential election, then surged as investors speculated that banks will benefit from higher interest rates, lighter regulation and lower taxes.

The New York-based lender previously revamped its executive compensation program for 2015 to link it more closely with performance. Mr Dimon, who in prior years had received restricted shares that vest over time regardless of JPMorgan's financial results, instead got performance units tied to the bank's return on tangible common equity over three years.

For Mr Dimon to collect his US$20.5 million 2015 stock award for performance, he needs to keep the firm out of the bottom five in a ranking of 12 major banks. If he does better, he can earn up to 150 per cent of the award, increasing its target value by more than US$10 million, according to a February filing.

The CEO got a 35 per cent pay boost to US$27 million in 2015, after receiving US$20 million a year for 2013 and 2014. For 2012, his pay was cut in half to US$11.5 million after the board said he bore some responsibility for the London Whale trading debacle.

The company awarded US$19 million compensation packages to four of Mr Dimon's deputies, according to spokesman Joe Evangelisti. They are chief operating officer Matt Zames, corporate and investment bank chief Daniel Pinto, asset management head Mary Callahan Erdoes and retail bank chief Gordon Smith. That equated to raises of 2.7 to 5.6 per cent. Chief financial officer Marianne Lake got a 14 per cent raise to US$12.5 million, Mr Evangelisti said.

BLOOMBERG

BT is now on Telegram!

For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes