BofA Chief Moynihan Gets a 31% Raise to $32 Million

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. boosted Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan's compensation 31% to $32 million for 2021, a year in which the firm set a record for profitability. 

His package includes $1.5 million in salary and a $30.5 million in stock-based incentive awards, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender said Friday in a filing. A year ago, Moynihan took a 7.5% pay cut to $24.5 million for 2020 amid the pandemic.  

Moynihan, one of the longest-serving heads of a giant U.S. bank, signaled in September his interest in staying on for years to come. The 62-year-old CEO has been steering the lender through the pandemic after taking the helm more than a decade ago in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Bank of America is fresh off its most profitable year, reporting a $32 billion in net income for 2021. The firm is boosting pay for senior bankers, and is rewarding nearly all employees with $1 billion in restricted stock on top of their regular compensation. It also raised its minimum wage to $21 in 2021 and plans to reach $25 an hour by 2025.

Wall Street compensation is surging after the pandemic sent bank profits to record highs, leaving rainmakers poised for some of the biggest paydays in more than a decade.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon, Morgan Stanley's James Gorman and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s billionaire leader Jamie Dimon were each awarded about $35 million for their work last year. That's more than any of their banks have lavished on a CEO since 2007.

Read more: Bank of America Employees Will Share $1 Billion Stock Award

Moynihan's pay bump for 2021 was among the largest on Wall Street, second only to Solomon's. The Goldman Sachs CEO's payout doubled from a year ago, when the board had reduced his package to $17.5 million after requiring him to return a third of his pay as penalty for the bank's role in the 1MDB scandal.

Bank of America's shares gained about 4% to $48.28 Friday in New York trading. They have advanced nearly 49% in the past 12 months.

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