NEW YORK, Mar. 12 (Reuters) — Merrill Lynch & Co. said on Friday it awarded Chief Executive Stan O’Neal $ 37 million in compensation for 2005, up 15 percent from a year earlier, while Bear Stearns Cos. said it paid Chief Executive James Cayne at least $ 28.4 million, up 8.8 percent.
The awards were broadly in line with compensation for other US investment banking chiefs.
The banks reported the compensation in proxy filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Compensation is by far the largest expense of investment banks, accounting for nearly 50 percent of net revenue, according to Johnson Associates Inc.
Among other chief executives, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Henry "Hank" Paulson was awarded $ 38.8 million for 2005, while Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s Richard Fuld was paid $ 34.5 million.
Merrill’s O’Neal was awarded a $ 700,000 salary, a $ 14.1 million cash bonus, $ 20.2 million of stock, and $ 2 million as part of the managing partner incentive program, which he will only receive if the company meets performance hurdles in coming years.
O’Neal’s compensation was nearly 1,000 times the average wage for US workers, which was $ 37,440 in 2004, the latest year for which data was available, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bear’s Cayne was awarded $ 200,000 in salary, a $ 12.7 million bonus, $ 10.3 million of restricted stock, and $ 5.2 million of other compensation.
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