Speaking during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren noted how government regulators have much work to do when it comes to changing the culture of Wall Street, pointing specifically to the example of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
The JPMorgan Chase example is simple and instructive: Despite the fact that the megabank spent much of 2013 negotiating with federal regulators, and ultimately was fined billions of dollars, the board decided to increase CEO Jamie Dimon's compensation to $20 million.
The raise is very real, but it should be kept in mind that Dimon's annual compensation had been previously slashed in half, to $11.5 million, as punishment for 2012's so-called London Whale fiasco, which cost the bank billions.
After a reportedly heated debate — in which some members argued Dimon's compensation should remain at its "reduced" level, due to the bank's fines in 2013, while other advocated increasing the CEO's compensation as a reward for his stewardship during the crisis — the board ultimately decided on the $20 million figure.
"Jamie Dimon got a raise after he negotiated $17 billion to pay for activities that were illegal that he presided over," Warren said on Thursday. "So I'm not quite sure how this is a deterrent for other CEOs."
You can see Warren criticize Dimon's raise below, via CNBC:
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