Bob CollinsThe bank pays its top executives more than any other bank, it took $25 billion in bailout money, and it was one of the leaders in “relaxed” lending standards during the housing bubble. “So why does Wells Fargo bank escape negative headlines?” CNBC’s David Faber wondered today.
The bank repaid its TARP money after President Barack Obama tied the money to limits on executive pay. Now we know why.
The country’s 4th-largest bank rewarded CEO John Stumpf with $21.3 million in 2009, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late on Wednesday. That’s more than the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, Faber notes.
The chief financial officer of Wells Fargo, Howard Atkins, made $11.6 million, up from a $4.9 million year in 2008. David Hoyt, the senior executive vice president of wholesale banking, was compensated with $13.5 million. The man in charge of home and consumer financing for the bank, Mark Oman, made $12.7 million — four times what he was paid the previous year.
In each case, the compensation was well above their compensation in 2007, which was the height of bank profitability in the U.S.
Wells Fargo posted a $12 billion profit in 2009. The company is the country’s biggest home lender.
