Morgan Stanley Boosted CEO's 2014 Pay to $22.5 Million

JamesGorman

(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley gave James Gorman the biggest raise yet among Wall Street chief executive officers for last year, boosting his pay 25% to $22.5 million.

Gorman, 56, received a $6.5 million long-term incentive and $5.4 million in deferred cash, the New York-based bank said Wednesday in a regulatory filing. He also got a $4.7 million cash bonus, $4.4 million in stock and a $1.5 million salary.

Morgan Stanley shares jumped more than 23% in each of the past three years as investors rewarded Gorman’s plan to rely more on wealth management for stable earnings. Still, the firm’s return on equity was under 6% in each of those years, short of his 10% goal.


The compensation committee deemed Gorman “as exceeding expectations” and found the firm’s performance and shareholder returns were “strong, with room for continued progress,” according to the filing. When setting his pay, the panel didn’t consider the firm’s $2.6 billion settlement of U.S. probes into its creation and sale of mortgage-backed securities, the company said.

Total pay for Gorman, who’s also chairman, rose for the second straight year. He received an $18 million compensation package for 2013, almost double that of a year earlier.

The raise was rare among the heads of Wall Street’s biggest banks. JPMorgan Chase held CEO Jamie Dimon’s total pay for 2014 unchanged at $20 million, while Citigroup’s Michael Corbat and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan each took pay cuts to $13 million.

BLANKFEIN'S RAISE

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, received $24 million in salary and bonus for 2014, up from $23 million a year earlier. His long-term incentive award, which was $6 million in the 2013 package, hasn’t yet been disclosed.

Morgan Stanley said in December that it will defer future bonus pools at an average rate of 50%, down from about 80% for 2013. Gorman said he would structure pay more in line with rivals now that the firm’s performance has “stabilized” and returns have increased. Two years ago, employees who had both total pay of at least $350,000 and a bonus topping $50,000 had their entire bonus deferred.

Donald Nicolaisen, former chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a director at Morgan Stanley since 2006, is chairman of the board’s compensation committee.

'SUPPLEMENTAL AWARD'

Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat, who is leaving the company this month to take the same role at Google, was awarded $13 million, up from $12 million a year earlier. The firm didn’t disclose how much of the deferred pay, more than $9 million, she would receive after leaving the bank.

Colm Kelleher, who leads the investment banking and trading division, and Greg Fleming, who oversees wealth and asset management, each got $16 million, up from $14.5 million for 2013. Chief Operating Officer Jim Rosenthal was awarded $11.5 million, a $1 million increase from a year earlier.

Kelleher also received a $2 million “supplemental award” to recognize the “successful execution of his global role, management of global regulatory obligations, and regular client interactions across many jurisdictions,” the company said. The award is half in stock and half in deferred cash and vests over three years.

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