Wells Raises Pay for Stumpf, Three Others

Wells Fargo & Co. increased the annual salary of its president and chief executive and three other executives in the form of stock.

The board of directors approved the salary increases for John Stumpf, who has been CEO for a little over two years, and the other executives Thursday. The San Francisco company said the stock cannot be sold until it repays the $25 billion it received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Steve Sanger, the chairman of the human resources committee on Wells' board, said the executives are "leading the company through the largest merger integration in U.S. banking history and earned record profits in the first two quarters of 2009 despite a challenging environment." Wells closed its deal for Wachovia Corp. at the beginning of the year.

The company said the changes set the salaries close to the average pay for similar executives at Wells Fargo's peers, though its results have been "consistently at or near the top of its peer group."

Last month, the House approved legislation that would give shareholders a greater say in compensation, which came after a report showing the largest banks continued to pay large bonuses during the worst of the financial crisis. Financial companies said maintaining their compensation plans is critical to retaining top talent.

Stumpf is to get an annual salary in stock of $4.7 million and receive a grant of 108,528 restricted share rights, which will begin to vest in 2011 and are subject to repayment of the federal funding.

The board also approved increases for Dave Hoyt, the head of wholesale banking; Mark Oman, the head of home and consumer financing, and chief financial officer Howard Atkins.

The three executives got increases ranging from $2.6 million to $3.3 million in stock. The six-figure cash salaries were unchanged for all four executives.

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