Wells Fargo CEO's pay rose 8 percent to $19.3 million - filing

Wells Fargo & Co Chief Executive John Stumpf's pay increased 8 percent in 2012, making him one of the industry's best-paid leaders, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

Stumpf received $19.3 million in compensation, comprising a $4 million bonus, $12.5 million in performance-based stock grants and $2.8 million in salary , after the No. 4 U.S. bank by assets hauled in record profits. For 2011, Stumpf received total compensation of $17.9 million.

While many of its rivals suffered missteps, San Francisco-based Wells emerged from the 2007-2009 financial crisis as the nation's biggest mortgage lender and a coast-to-coast retail bank after buying Wachovia Corp. Berkshire Hathaway Inc's Warren Buffett is the bank's biggest investor, owning 8.8 percent of its shares, according to the filing.

Wells posted $18.9 billion in earnings in 2012, up 19 percent from the previous year, but investors are worried the bank will have trouble repeating the performance amid a decline in mortgage refinancings. The bank's shares rose 24 percent in 2012, below the 30 percent increase in the KBW Bank Index.

Stumpf is landing at the top of the banker pay scale as some of his peers are getting their paychecks docked.

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman's total pay for 2012 fell 7 percent to $9.75 million, while JPMorgan Chase & Co awarded CEO Jamie Dimon $11.5 million after slashing his bonus in half after the bank lost billions on disastrous trades by its Chief Investment Office.

Bank of America Corp chief executive Brian Moynihan, however, received a 73 percent raise that brought his total compensation to $12.1 million in 2012. New Citigroup CEO Mike Corbat made $11.5 million in 2012 for his work leading the bank and for his previous role as head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc CEO Lloyd Blankfein has received stock awards worth $13.3 million as part of his 2012 bonus, but the rest of his pay hasn't been disclosed.

According to Thursday's proxy filing, Wells Fargo stockholders will vote this spring on whether the bank should have an independent chairman, a proposal rejected at last year's shareholder meeting. Stumpf currently holds both the CEO and chairman positions.

The annual stockholder meeting will be held April 23 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Last year's gathering near the bank's San Francisco headquarters was disrupted by demonstrators protesting foreclosures and other issues. Goldman Sachs is also holding its annual meeting in Salt Lake City this spring.

(Reporting by Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, N.C.; Editing by Bernard Orr and Diane Craft)