Bank of America's Moynihan Gets 73 Percent Pay Increase in 2012

Bank of America Corp's CEO Brian Moynihan was awarded a 73 percent pay increase in 2012, when the institution resolved crisis-era lawsuits and its stock was one of the sector's top performers.

The $12.1 million pay package likely means that Moynihan was one of the best paid CEO's on Wall Street in 2012, thanks in part to compensation cuts for rivals. Moynihan's base salary for 2013 also is due to rise by more than 55 percent, a person familiar with the situation said.

Analysts have said that Bank of America has not fully moved past the financial crisis. Still wrestling with losses from the bank's 2008 Countrywide Financial acquisition, Moynihan is under pressure to show the bank can increase earnings at a time of low interest rates and tighter regulations.

Moynihan received 926,238 shares of stock in three types of grants, including restricted shares and performance-based shares, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

In 2012 Moynihan earned a $950,000 in salary but received no cash bonus, similar to 2011, the source said. The CEO's 2013 salary will increase to $1.5 million, the person said.

The stock grants for 2012 were worth $11.1 million at the closing price of $12.03 on Friday, the date they were awarded. Moynihan received grants worth about $6.1 million for 2011.

Bank of America's shares rose 109 percent in 2012, the best performance among stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as investors grew confident it had the capital it needed to meet new international guidelines.

Moynihan's pay rose in a year in which other bank executives were not so fortunate. Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman's total pay for 2012 fell 7 percent to $9.75 million, while JPMorgan Chase & Co awarded CEO Jamie Dimon $11.5 million after slashing his bonus in half after the bank lost billions on disastrous trades by its Chief Investment Office.

Moynihan made more than Dimon, even though his bank posted net income of $4.2 billion in 2012, compared to $21.3 billion for JPMorgan.

Bank of America's filings disclose only the stock portion of pay for Moynihan and other top executives in 2012. More details will be provided in the annual proxy filing this spring.

Moynihan's grants included 277,871 shares that will be paid out on a monthly basis in cash over the next year and 463,119 restricted shares that vest over three years. Half of the remaining 185,248 performance-based shares will vest if the company meets return on asset goals, and the other half will vest if the company meets goals for growth in adjusted tangible book value, both over a three-year period.

In 2011, the bank granted performance-based shares tied only to return on assets, a measure of profits compared to total assets.

The bank needed to reach a minimum return on assets of 0.5 percent over a four-quarter period by the end of 2015 to pay out at least partially. The bank's return on assets in 2012 was 0.19 percent, up from 0.06 percent in 2011.

The bank's tangible book value per share of common stock grew to $13.36 in the fourth quarter of 2012 from $12.95 a year earlier as the bank built capital. Tuesday's filings did not disclose the performance-based goals for the shares.

The bank also awarded restricted and performance-based shares worth nearly $30 million to six other top executives, according to the filings.

Tom Montag, the co-chief operating officer who runs global markets and banking businesses, received shares worth $8.3 million, the most of the six but less than Moynihan. In some years, Montag has made more than his boss. David Darnell, co-chief operating officer for consumer businesses and wealth management, received shares worth $5.2 million.