摩根大通CEO真的值2000万美元年薪吗？

    眼下正是美国最大银行摩根大通（JPMorgan）首席执行官吉米•戴蒙收获的时候，而且他的收成要好于去年。

    经过激烈讨论和深刻反省，摩根大通董事会决定把戴蒙的年薪提高到2000万美元【《纽约时报》（New York Times）称，一些董事在这家银行纽约总部大楼第50层的走廊上来来回回地踱步】。去年，董事会将这位CEO的年薪砍到了1150万美元左右。

    此事将引发一些争议。2013年摩根大通支付了220亿美元罚款，其中一笔打破了美国历史上对公司罚款的纪录。有人认为应该解雇戴蒙，而不是给他涨工资。

    我以前就曾经写到过，涉及CEO薪酬，确定一个合理的水平非常困难。这就是为什么首席执行官能拿到巨额酬劳的原因。他们的工资往往都会很高，但很难说什么样的水平才算合理。因此，某些公司的董事会干脆就给他们一大笔钱。从某种意义上来说，摩根大通董事会面临的选择比通常情况下容易一些。他们可以采取维护公共关系的策略，也可以根据三年前的酬劳模式给戴蒙发工资。三年前戴蒙的年薪为2300万美元。

    我敢打赌，讨论过程中肯定会有人这么说：“嗯，去年我们选择了维护公共关系，结果给我们带来了什么呢？答案是220亿美元罚款和铺天盖地的负面新闻。我们不如看看另外一种方案效果如何。”最后似乎是这种观点占了上风，尽管这家银行的董事会并没有这么说。相反，除了宣布给戴蒙加薪，董事会公告还表示，戴蒙“巩固了（摩根大通的）控制结构”，同时称赞戴蒙“强化了公司各个层级的领导能力”，这样的举动可能会产生更好的公关效果。

    那么，董事会选择第二种方案后，问题就变成了“戴蒙到底值多少？”有几种方法来进行判断。2011年，摩根大通盈利190亿美元。当年戴蒙获得的现金酬劳和受限制股份共计2300万美元。此前我曾撰文指出，2013年戴蒙和摩根大通的表现相当好。即使算上罚款，它的利润仍然接近179亿美元，只比2011年低了6%。也就是说，今年戴蒙的工资偏低。按2011年的比例计算，他的年薪应该达到2160万美元（不过，如果按去年的利润和薪酬比例计算，戴蒙只能拿到970万美元）。

    计算戴蒙酬劳的另一种方法是看看摩根大通的股价表现，因为对股东来说，这才是真正重要的东西。而从技术角度来说，股东才是戴蒙真正的老板。2011年，摩根大通的股价下跌了22%。2013年，它的股票上涨了20%。在这种情况下，戴蒙应该拿多少工资呢？我不知道，但应该远高于2300万美元。

    不过，薪酬顾问不会采用这样的算法。他们看的是竞争对手的CEO会拿到多少钱。2013年，摩根大通的主要竞争对手——美银（Bank of America）、高盛（Goldman Sachs）、摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）、富国银行（Wells Fargo）和花旗集团（Citigroup）——的CEO平均薪酬为1260万美元。因此，戴蒙的酬劳过高。但贝莱德（Blackrock）首席执行官拉里•芬克的年薪也达到了2150万美元。

    It's time for the CEO of America's largest bank to collect his spoils. And it's going to be a bigger bundle than last year.

    JPMorgan's board -- after some heated discussion and soul-searching (the New York Timessays some JPMorgan board members paced the 50th-floor corridors of the company's New York headquarters) -- decided to up Dimon's pay to $20 million. Last year, the board slashed the chief executive's pay to around $11.5 million.

    This will cause some controversy. JPMorgan (JPM) paid $22 billion in penalties this year, including the largest single corporate fine in U.S. history. Some people think Dimon should be fired, which is different than being given a raise.

    As I have written before, it's very hard to determine what's fair when it comes to CEO pay. That's why CEOs get away with such huge payouts. It's going to be a lot, but justifying any specific number is hard. So most boards just go with a lot. In a sense, JPMorgan's board had an easier choice than usual: They could go the PR-friendly route or pay him based on the same compensation model that three years ago deemed Dimon worth $23 million a year.

    I bet at some point in the debate, someone said something like this: "Well, we went the PR-friendly route last year, and what did it get us? Answer: $22 billion in fines and tons of negative press. Might as well see how option No. 2 works out." That argument seems to have won out. Although the board didn't say that. Instead, their statement, along with the announcement of the pay increase, said Dimon has "fortified [JPMorgan's] control infrastructure" and credited the CEO with "strengthening the Company's leadership capabilities across all levels," which is probably the better PR move.

    So, once you are going with choice No. 2, the question then becomes, "What does Dimon deserve?" There are a few ways to determine that. Back in 2011, JPMorgan made $19 billion. That year, the bank paid Dimon $23 million in cash and restricted stock. As I have written, Dimon and JPMorgan actually had a pretty good 2013. Even with the fine, the company's bottom line was nearly $17.9 billion, down only 6% from what the bank earned back in 2011. That means Dimon is getting underpaid. Using the same ratio from 2011, he should be getting $21.6 million. (Although if you go by last year's pay and profits, Dimon should only be getting $9.7 million.)

    Another way to determine Dimon's pay is to look at how JPMorgan's stock price has performed, because that's what really matters to shareholders, which are technically Dimon's true bosses. Back in 2011, JPMorgan's stock price fell 22%. In 2013, the bank's shares rose by 20%. How much does that mean he should get paid? I don't know, but a lot more than $23 million.

    That's not the way compensation consultants do it, though. They look at what competitors pay their CEOs. Last year, the CEOs of JPMorgan's closest rivals -- Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C) -- were paid an average of $12.6 million. So, then, Dimon is getting paid too much. Then again, Blackrock's (BLK) Larry Fink got $21.5 million.