No matter how you calculate it, the CEO of Capital One is well paid.
According to the company, Capital One paid Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank approximately $17.5 million in compensation for 2012. The payment package included $10.9 million in stock, $4.38 million in options, and $2.19 million in a cash bonus.
Securities regulators calculate pay differently and report that Fairbank earned $22.6 million: $16 million in stock awards, $4.4 million in option awards and $2.2 million in the form of a deferred cash bonus.
The $22.6 million package would be a 21 percent increase over his 2011 package of $18.7 million.
In 2012, Capital One grew into the sixth-largest U.S. commercial banking company by assets.
Fairbank, 62, co-founded Capital One in 1988. He hasn't received a cash salary in 16 years, electing to take stocks and options. But the board decided to award $2.2 million of the 2012 compensation as deferred cash over three years, according to Dow Jones newswires.
Capital One's Board also added a provision that it can recover pay if an executive broke the law or violated company policy that caused harm to the company's reputation for finances. This also applies if the board feels the executive did not manage or monitor applicable conduct or risks.
