JPMorgan leaves CEO Dimon’s pay at US$34.5m for 2022

JPMORGAN Chase & Co kept chief executive officer Jamie Dimon’s total compensation at US$34.5 million for his work in 2022, a year in which the firm’s profit fell by almost a quarter and the stock notched its worst annual performance in over a decade.

The board also vowed to stop granting Dimon special awards after shareholders expressed frustration in the wake of a more-than US$50 million retention package announced in 2021.

For his work last year, the board granted Dimon, 66, a US$1.5 million salary and US$33 million in performance-based incentive compensation, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday (Jan 19). The panel considered his performance, as well as feedback from investors at the last annual meeting, it said in the filing.

“Amid the significant challenges of strong competition, growing geopolitical tensions, global economic uncertainty, mounting inflation and higher rates, and the lingering impacts of Covid-19, under Mr Dimon’s stewardship, the firm continued to serve its clients and customers around the world during a time of unprecedented business demands,” it said in the statement.

The package is Dimon’s first since suffering a rare rebuke from stockholders in May in a non-binding vote against JPMorgan’s pay practises, which included special multi-year packages for Dimon and his top lieutenant, Daniel Pinto. At the time, a company spokesperson said the board takes such feedback “very seriously”.

Profit drops

JPMorgan’s profit shrank 22 per cent to US$37.7 billion last year, dropping from a record. The drop was driven by a slowdown in dealmaking, as well as provisions to cover potential bad loans. The bank had released reserves in 2021 after expected massive losses tied to the Covid-19 pandemic never materialised.

Shares of the company slumped 15 per cent last year — faring better than the 24-firm KBW Bank Index, but marking the stock’s worst annual performance since a 22 per cent drop in 2011. It is little changed this year.

Dimon, who has led JPMorgan since 2005, has become the most prominent executive in banking. He was also the highest-paid CEO of a major US bank until Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman vaulted past him two years ago. Both Gorman and Goldman Sachs Group’s David Solomon earned more than Dimon for 2021.

Though it didn’t grant Dimon a raise this round, JPMorgan’s board praised his “exemplary” stewardship in the filing.

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“The firm is in a uniquely fortunate position to be led by such a highly talented and experienced executive who continues to grow the company,” it said. BLOOMBERG