Who Is The Best Paid Banking CEO In America?

S&P Global Inc SPGI's S&P Global Market Intelligence recently released a list of the top-paid executives in U.S. banking.

The highest paid CEOs and money managers usually work for big, well-known companies. However, in the banking industry, this doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, the CEO with the highest compensation in the segment works for a smid-cap bank many readers may have never heard of: Investors Bancorp, Inc. ISBC.

Related Link: CEOs Vs. Hedge Fund Managers: Who Gets Paid Better?

Kevin Cummings, Investors Bancorp CEO, took the largest pay among his peers in 2015. Last year, Cummings received a $20 million paycheck, 3.5 percent more than Wells Fargo & Co WFC CEO John Stumpf, who got $19.3 million.

So how could a $3.4 billion market cap bank pay its CEO more than a $230 billion market cap company? It seems like 2015 was a special year for Investors Bancorp. The company transitioned from a mutually held bank to a fully public company that saw its stock surge by 11 percent. Consequently, Cummings got a fat bonus, which helped him out-earn Stumpf.

The third place in this list was occupied by JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM CEO, James Dimon, who got $18.22 million in compensation in 2015. Completing the top 10 were:

• Richard Fairbank of Capital One Financial Corp. COF, with $18.01 million.
• Michael Corbat, of Citigroup Inc C, with $14.60 million.
• Brian Moynihan, of Bank of America Corp BAC, with $13.72 million.
• Gerald Hassell, of Bank of New York Mellon Corp BK, with $13.48 million.
• Alessandro DiNello, of Flagstar Bancorp Inc FBC, with $13.02 million.
• Frederick Waddell, of Northern Trust Corporation NTRS, with $12.76 million.
• William Demchak, of PNC Financial Services Group Inc PNC, with $12.33 million.

The chart below illustrates the total adjusted compensation of bank CEOs in 2015.

Source: SNL Financial, MarketWatch