JPMorgan CEO James Dimon's Compensation Rises to $31.5 Million

By David Benoit 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. paid its chief executive, James Dimon, $31.5 million for his work in 2019, a 1.6% boost, as the bank set fresh records in profit and stock price.

The pay includes $6.5 million in cash, including salary and bonus, and $25 million in stock grants that would be earned over the coming years, depending on the bank's performance.

Mr. Dimon was the highest paid of big-bank bosses in the U.S. for 2018, when JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank, gave him a package worth $31 million. His closest competitor was Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, who was paid $29 million.

Mr. Dimon is likely to retain that crown again. Most big U.S. banks haven't yet disclosed their executive pay packages for 2019, but Morgan Stanley said last week it cut Mr. Gorman's pay to $27 million.

In 2019, JPMorgan posted a profit of $36.43 billion, a 12% increase, and the stock rose 43% to end the year at an all-time high near $140. Shares have slipped to start the new year.

The bank's return on tangible equity, a measure of profitability the board's compensation committee ties to the awards, rose to 19% for the year from 17%, higher than that of rivals.

Mr. Dimon's salary has been steady at $1.5 million and his annual cash bonus at $5 million since 2017. The company touts his pay as being mostly tied to performance, with shares earned only if the bank meets certain returns over several years.

Mr. Dimon, who will turn 64 this year, has been CEO since 2005. For at least the past six years, his standard answer about when he might leave has been about five more years and up to the board. When asked earlier this month for an update, he stuck by five years once again.

Last year, he moved around top lieutenants in a change widely viewed as tests for potential successors.

Write to David Benoit at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2020 17:21 ET (22:21 GMT)

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