Banking Heads Take 10% Pay Cuts, Still Bank $11.5M on Average

J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon may have to scale back a bit this year.

Dimon, along with other top bankers in the U.S. and Europe, saw their average pay drop by 10% in 2012, according to the Financial Times. The pay cuts are the first for banking leaders in the past three years.

The newspaper reports the pay reductions are a result of banks being under the gun from investor and regulatory pressures. The total pay awarded to the heads of 15 banks was acquired and analyzed by pay research firm Equilar.

But it’s unlikely anyone is shedding any tears for Dimon or his cohorts. Dimon, who faced a shareholder vote earlier this year to split his chairman and CEO role, still took home an average of $11.5 million in 2012, down 10% from 2011.

The paper’s analysis combines base salaries, cash bonuses and other benefits including option and stock awards. FT reports these declines reflect a cap on bonuses that will go into effect across the EU in 2013.

But not all banking chiefs saw a smaller paycheck last year. John Stumpf of Wells Fargo received a higher check of $19.3 million and HSBC’s Stuart Gulliver raked in $12.9 million.

Across other sectors, chief exec salaries remained stable, according to the report. Equilar reports the average pay for S&P 500 CEOs, with at least two years in service, was $11 million, down 0.3% in the past year.

And for Antony Jenkins, group chief executive of Barclay’s, there’s always next year. Jenkins made only $4.1 million, the smallest paycheck on the list.