JPMorgan
The multi-million dollar award was given to Dimon for his work in 2021 in an effort to tie him to his position for at least five additional years. The additional $52.6 million is the largest change in Dimon's compensation to date. At the annual shareholders meeting on May 17, less than a third of JPMorgan shareholders voted in support of Dimon's award.
For reference, JPMorgan has received approval from more than 90% of shareholders during the company's say-on-pay referendums for the last eight out of 12 years.
The lack of shareholder support was primarily driven by rejections of the package by two prominent shareholder advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc and Glass Lewis & Co.
In defense of the award, a JPMorgan spokesperson argued that this is the first such award for Dimon in more than a decade, and also pointed out that the award is not recurring. While the $52.6 million award is separate from Dimon's usual annual pay package, that package also increased by 10% to $34.5 million in 2021.
JPMorgan's board of directors said that Dimon's payment "reflects the board's desire for him to continue to lead the firm for a further significant number of years," and argued that the award is part of "management succession planning amidst a highly competitive landscape for executive leadership talent."
For the last three years, support for executive pay packages has been on a slow decline. According to consulting firm Semler Brossy, support for S&P 500
Shareholders may have rejected the 2021 award, but they still broadly voted in favor of the board of directors' decisions. All of the directors, Dimon included, received more than 92% of shareholder votes for re-election.
On the other hand, two proposals from shareholders regarding the possible restriction of fossil fuel financing received 11% and 15% of support. Similar proposals have recently been voted down at several big oil companies, as well as Bank of America
