By Dan Freed
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp's (N:BAC) board awarded Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan $20 million for his work last year, the largest pay package he has received since taking the helm of the bank in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
His compensation came largely in the form of stock awards, half of which Moynihan can only receive if he hits certain performance targets, according to a securities filing on Friday.
It was a 25 percent raise from Moynihan's 2015 package. The board cited higher earnings, historically low credit losses and relatively high shareholder returns as factors in setting executive pay.
CEOs of other big banks have not received as big of a pay bump for 2016 as Moynihan, though some have received larger dollar amounts.
Moynihan assumed leadership of Bank of America in 2010 after a rocky period of mergers and bailouts. Most of his tenure has been defined by settling lawsuits, dealing with regulatory matters and cutting costs, and the bank is still trying to regain its footing in underlying businesses.
Now 57, Moynihan has lately been focused on hiring salespeople and investing in technology in an effort to make the bank more efficient.
Shares of Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. lender, rose 31 percent last year, thanks largely to a broad rally in U.S. bank stocks following the November election. However, its stock is still trading at less than half its pre-crisis high near $55.
Moynihan's 2016 award included a base salary of $1.5 million and $18.5 million in stock-related awards, half of which only vest if Bank of America hits targets for returns on asset and tangible book value growth over three years, according to the 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Moynihan earned 91 percent of the performance-restricted stock he was awarded in 2011 and just 42 percent of those he received in 2013, according to the lender's most recent proxy filing. Later performance-restricted awards are still pending.
JPMorgan Chase & Co (N:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon's compensation rose 3.7 percent to $28 million and Morgan Stanley (N:MS) CEO James Gorman's compensation rose 7 percent to $22.5 million. Citigroup (NYSE:C) CEO Michael Corbat got$15.5 million, a 6 percent decline from last year.