Bank CEOs who got the heftiest raises last year

June 6, 2022 9:00 PM

While most bank CEOs got pay hikes last year, the raises were bigger for some than others.

KeyCorp Chief Executive Chris Gorman received a 64% boost in total direct compensation in 2021, Washington Federal CEO Brent Beardall got a 60% raise, and Comerica CEO Curtis Farmer was awarded a 48% pay bump.

Those industry-leading raises compared with an average increase of 21.5% for the CEOs of more than 50 large and midsize banks, according to an analysis by the consulting firm Compensation Advisory Partners.

Some of the CEOs who got the largest pay increases in 2021 had received pay cuts the previous year, when the COVID-19 pandemic hurt performance metrics that banks use to help determine compensation levels.

For example, Cullen/Frost Bankers CEO Phillip Green received a 42% increase in total direct compensation between 2020 and 2021 after his pay was cut by 18% a year earlier. And Pinnacle Financial Partners CEO Terry Turner received a 32% pay raise last year after getting a 13% cut in 2020.

What follows is a countdown of the 10 bank CEOs who got the biggest raises on a percentage basis last year, according to the analysis by Compensation Advisory Partners. Information about factors that influenced specific banks’ pay decisions comes from their most recent proxy statements.

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Brian Moynihan, Bank of America

2020 total direct compensation: $24.50 million
2021 total direct compensation: $32.00 million

Percentage change: 31%

Bank of America’s CEO did not receive a bonus in 2021, and his salary was flat from the previous year at $1.5 million. The large increase in his total direct compensation stemmed from a 33% rise in his long-term incentive pay to $30.5 million.

Moynihan’s $7.5 million pay hike represented a turnaround from the previous year, when his total compensation package fell by 8% from 2019.

In its most recent proxy statement, Charlotte, North Carolina-based BofA cited a range of metrics that its compensation committee considered in setting executive compensation, including: net income, which was up 79%; revenue, which rose by 4%; and net charge-offs, which improved by 46%.

Moynihan has served as BofA’s CEO since 2010 and its board chair since 2014.

Bruce Lee, CEO of Heartland Financial USA

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Bruce Lee, Heartland Financial USA

2020 total direct compensation: $2.28 million
2021 total direct compensation: $3.00 million

Percentage change: 32%

Lee got a bigger salary, a larger bonus and more long-term incentive pay last year. His bonus rose by 50% from 2020 to $850,000.

Dubuque, Iowa-based Heartland’s net income in 2021 was $211.9 million, which was up 59% from the previous year.

Lee has been Heartland’s president since 2015 and its CEO since 2018. His predecessor, Lynn Fuller, was removed as the bank’s chairman in March after publicly allying himself with an activist shareholder group that suggested a potential sale of the $19.2 billion-asset company.

Terry Turner, Pinnacle Financial Partners

2020 total direct compensation: $4.49 million
2021 total direct compensation: $5.93 million

Percentage change: 32%

Turner’s pay hike last year was largely the result of a much larger bonus. His bonus rose from $530,000 in 2020 to $1.91 million last year.

Part of the rationale for Turner’s bigger bonus payment involved Pinnacle significantly exceeding estimates last year for pre-provision net revenue and fully diluted earnings per share.

But Pinnacle also stated in its most recent proxy statement that its board compensation committee used higher bonus payments last year in an effort to compensate for reduced payouts the previous year. In 2020, the bonus payments were lower as a result of “the difficult operating environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the $39.4 billion-asset bank stated.

Turner, a founder of Nashville, Tennessee-based Pinnacle, has served as the bank’s president and CEO since its organization in 2000.

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James Herbert, First Republic Bank

2020 total direct compensation: $16.21 million
2021 total direct compensation: $21.88 million

Percentage change: 35%

Herbert’s long-term incentive pay rose by 37% to $16.2 million last year, and his bonus increased by the same percentage to $4.6 million.

Under Herbert’s employment agreement, he was entitled to an annual cash bonus equal to 0.5% of First Republic’s pre-tax profit each fiscal year, subject to certain limits, according to the bank’s most recent proxy statement.

Herbert, who founded First Republic in 1985, served as co-CEO of the $187.2 billion-asset company for much of 2021. Co-CEO Hafize Gaye Erkan resigned on Dec. 31, and Herbert took a three-month medical leave of absence at the start of 2022.

Earlier this year, Herbert became the San Francisco company’s executive chairman, and President Mike Roffler was named CEO.

Philip Wenger, Fulton Financial

2020 total direct compensation: $2.99 million
2021 total direct compensation: $4.10 million

Percentage change: 37%

Wenger’s salary and his long-term incentive pay were basically unchanged from 2020, but his bonus rose from $631,000 to $1.74 million.

In explaining its executive pay decisions, Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Fulton noted that its return on equity in 2021 was 10.64%, which exceeded the company’s budgeted return on equity of 7.44%.

Wenger has been Fulton’s chairman and CEO since 2013. The $25.6 billion-asset company said in March that Wenger plans to retire on Dec. 31, and that President Curtis Myers will succeed him as chairman and CEO.

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John Kemper, Commerce Bancshares

2020 total direct compensation: $3.67 million
2021 total direct compensation: $5.18 million

Percentage change: 41%

Kemper’s bonus rose from $664,000 in 2020 to $1.6 million last year. His long-term incentive pay increased from $2.06 million to $2.62 million.

Kansas City, Missouri-based Commerce said in its latest proxy statement that its compensation philosophy is to provide pay that is competitive with peer banks in order to attract and retain top performers.

Kemper has been the $35 billion-asset company’s CEO since 2018. His father, David Kemper, is Commerce’s executive chairman.

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Phillip Green, Cullen/Frost Bankers

2020 total direct compensation: $3.51 million
2021 total direct compensation: $4.99 million

Percentage change: 42%

Green was awarded a $1.16 million bonus last year, up from $227,000 in 2020. He also received $2.9 million in long-term incentive compensation, versus $2.25 million the previous year.

Cullen/Frost, which has $51.3 billion of assets, said in its proxy statement that annual incentives to named executive officers were paid at 25% above target last year as a result of strong financial performance. In 2021, Cullen/Frost’s net income exceeded its budget expectations by 36%, according to the company.

Cullen/Frost generally targets its executive compensation to be in a competitive range with peer banks, while also taking into account other factors such as company performance, according to its latest proxy statement.

Green has been chairman and CEO of the San Antonio-based parent company of Frost Bank since 2016.

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Curtis Farmer, Comerica

2020 total direct compensation: $5.37 million
2021 total direct compensation: $7.96 million

Percentage change: 48%

The big increase in Farmer’s total pay last year stemmed largely from his bonus, which rose from $658,000 to $2.74 million.

In explaining its CEO pay decisions, Dallas-based Comerica cited its earnings per share, which set a record last year. The company also pointed to factors including Farmer’s continued work with the board on succession planning, the development of a long-term strategic plan that focuses on driving additional revenue growth and what Comerica called a “strong performance” on its diversity scorecard.

Farmer has been president of the $91.2 billion-asset company since 2015, its CEO since 2019 and its chairman since 2020.

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Brent Beardall, Washington Federal

2020 total direct compensation: $2.43 million
2021 total direct compensation: $3.88 million

Percentage change: 60%

Beardall’s salary climbed from $700,000 to $775,000, but the much bigger increase came in the form of a bonus. After not receiving a bonus in 2020, Beardall received a $1.2 million payout last year. His long-term incentive pay also rose by 10% to $1.9 million.

In its latest proxy statement, Washington Federal said that total executive compensation is tied to the company’s financial performance, but it also noted that peer group benchmarking is used as a data point in making pay decisions.

Beardall has been president and CEO of Washington Federal, the $20.6 billion-asset parent company of WaFd Bank, since 2017.

Chris Gorman, KeyCorp

2020 total direct compensation: $7.01 million
2021 total direct compensation: $11.50 million

Percentage change: 64%

Gorman’s bonus rose from $1.71 million to $3.3 million, and his long-term incentive pay climbed from $4.3 million to $7.2 million. His salary was unchanged at $1 million.

In explaining its 2021 pay decisions, Key noted that the Cleveland-based company reported record levels of revenue and pre-provision net revenue last year. The $181.2 billion-asset parent company of KeyBank also cited the launch of Laurel Road for Doctors, a nationwide digital bank for healthcare professionals, as an example of the bank increasing its capabilities during Gorman’s tenure.

Another factor in the decision to give Gorman a big raise: increased representation of women and people of color in the bank’s leadership ranks.

Gorman has been Key’s chairman and CEO since 2020, when he succeeded the retiring Beth Mooney.