JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Jamie Dimon retained his position as the highest-paid U.S. bank CEO in 2021, as Bank of America Corp.'s Brian Moynihan, who was second in 2020, slid to fifth in 2021, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
Dimon received $31.8 million in cash and stock compensation in 2021, a mere 0.6% increase from 2020, and $84.4 million in total adjusted compensation, which was up 166.7% year over year. Among the 10 highest-paid U.S. bank CEOs, Dimon was the only one to have received option awards. JPMorgan's board granted Dimon 1.5 million options in stock appreciation rights in 2021 to entice him to continue leading the bank for a "further significant number of years."
Wells Fargo & Co.'s Charles Scharf, who was the industry's highest-paid CEO in 2019, has seen a consistent decline in his compensation since then. Scharf dropped to fourth on the list in 2020 and further slid to sixth in 2021 with $16.0 million in cash and stock compensation and $21.4 million in total adjusted compensation. Andrew Cecere, CEO of U.S. Bancorp, slid down one position to become the 10th-highest paid U.S. bank CEO in 2021. U.S. Bancorp agreed to acquire MUFG Union Bank NA from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. in September 2021, the second-longest pending U.S. bank deal so far in 2022.
Hafize Erkan of First Republic Bank, the fourth-highest paid CEO overall, was the highest-paid CEO among banks with assets between $50 billion and $500 billion as of year-end 2021. Until her resignation in January, Erkan was co-CEO with James Herbert, who was the second-highest paid CEO in this category. Erkan and Herbert received $23.5 million and $17.8 million in total adjusted compensation in 2021, registering an increase of 158.2% and 34.3% year over year, respectively.
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Bruce Van Saun, Citizens Financial Group Inc.'s CEO since 2013, received $12.4 million in total adjusted compensation in 2021, down 13.3% year over year, making him the third-highest paid CEO among banks with assets between $50 billion and $500 billion. Citizens Financial Group, which reduced its branch footprint by 20% between 2015 and 2021, plans to close 5% of its branches by 2025 to become a digital-first bank.
Meanwhile, New York Community Bancorp Inc. CEO Thomas Cangemi received $8.7 million in total adjusted compensation, a 220.2% increase year over year.
Matthew Wagner of PacWest Bancorp was the second-highest paid CEO in the U.S. banking industry overall and the highest-paid CEO among banks with assets between $10 billion and $50 billion as of year-end 2021. Wagner's total adjusted compensation grew a whopping 413.6% in 2021 to $25.4 million.
Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. CEO Mark DeFazio was the highest-paid CEO among banks with assets between $1 billion and $10 billion as of year-end 2021, on account of a $4.3 million stock compensation, the highest among CEOs in this category. DeFazio's total adjusted compensation increased 180.1% year over year in 2021.
Joseph Coccaro, CEO of Bogota Financial Corp., received $2.2 million in total adjusted compensation in 2021, a 186% year-over-year increase, making him the highest-paid CEO among banks with assets under $1 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021.