NYSE Chief Will Collect $139.5 Million
In its first public disclosure of the pay package of its top executive, the New York Stock Exchange said Chairman and Chief Executive Dick Grasso will collect $139.5 million in deferred retirement benefits and a pay package of at least $2.4 million this year.
The NYSE board's approval of the pay package, as well as its decision to extend Mr. Grasso's employment contract to 2007, reflect a vote of confidence in Mr. Grasso amid an unusually contentious season for the stock exchange. The exchange is investigating the trading practices of some of its biggest floor traders, known as specialist firms -- one of whom, LaBranche & Co., has publicly clashed with the exchange over its request for corporate e-mails. The dispute was resolved Wednesday. See related article.
Mr. Grasso's compensation, especially the large accumulated deferred retirement-related portion, sparked sharp reactions from both the Securities and Exchange Commission and from compensation experts.
However, H. Carl McCall, chairman of the NYSE's compensation committee, said the NYSE board clearly felt that Mr. Grasso was worth the money. "I feel good about the fact that Dick Grasso has provided some excellent leadership over a number of years, and we wanted to retain him," he said. "And to do so, we extended his contract."
Mr. McCall added that the release of the pay figures was part of a broader NYSE effort to improve transparency and strengthen its corporate governance.
At the SEC, which regulates the NYSE, officials said Chairman William Donaldson -- himself a former NYSE chairman -- was concerned about the size of Mr. Grasso's pay package.
"The commission will fully review this issue and compensation practices [at self-regulated organizations like the NYSE] very carefully," one commission official said. "Given that we expect [such organizations] to set the example for all the listed companies, there's some concern here."
Compensation experts also expressed surprise at the size of Mr. Grasso's compensation package.
"Those are some meaningful amounts there," said Steven Hall, president of Pearl Meyer & Partners Inc., a New York based executive compensation consultancy. "I'm not sure that there are a lot of CEOs that leave with lump-sum payouts in excess of $100 million."
While the gist of the pay package was approved by the NYSE's full board at its early-August meeting, final details weren't set until Tuesday, Mr. McCall said, when representatives of Mr. Grasso and the exchange, along with Mr. McCall, signed off on them.
Mr. Grasso's annual pay will be $2.4 million, including a base salary of $1.4 million and a bonus of at least $1 million.
The executive also is withdrawing $139.5 million in savings he has acquired during his career of more than three decades at the NYSE. That payout is a combination of $40 million in a savings account, a previously accrued retirement benefit of $51.6 million, and a previously earned balance of $47.9 million that is the result of prior incentive awards. His employment contract was extended to May 2007 from 2005.
"When you look at what [Mr. Grasso] has done for 36 years at the NYSE...Every decision has been the right decision, every step the right step," said Robert Zito , executive vice president for communications at the NYSE. "I can't speak for the board, but I think previous boards have acted in a way that they feel is commensurate with his results."
Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Grasso's annual compensation in recent years had ranged as high as about $20 million -- figures that surprised many Big Board members (See article).
Recent speculation about Mr. Grasso's pay, including bonuses, has touched a nerve among traders on the exchange's Manhattan floor, where many firms are struggling with the effects of a down market and diminished stock-trading volume.
In a statement Wednesday, Mr. Grasso said his decision to withdraw his accumulated compensation was made "to facilitate personal financial and estate planning" and that the money was subject to income tax, which he will now pay.
纽约证交所董事长薪酬高达1.4亿美元
《华尔街日报》
纽约证交所(New York Stock Exchange)董事长兼首席执行长里查德?格拉索(Richard Grasso)将获得一笔高达1.395亿美元的延迟退休薪酬，他今年的薪水将至少是240万美元，这是纽约证交所首次公开披露领导层的薪酬福利。
纽约证交所的董事会批准了这项薪酬计划，并决定将格拉索的任期合约延长至2007年，这反映这家证交所在经历了充满争议的一段时期后仍对格拉索表示信任。该证交所正在调查最大的几家场内交易员（即所谓特设经纪商）的交易活动，其中LaBranche & Co.和证交所的矛盾已经公开化，证交所要求该公司交出其公司电子邮件。这一争议已在周三得到解决。
格拉索的薪酬，特别是巨额的累积延迟退休这部分引起了美国证券交易委员会(Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC)以及薪酬专家的强烈反响。
但纽约证交所薪酬委员会主席卡尔?麦克考尔(H. Carl McCall)称，纽约证交所董事会清楚地认为，格拉索有资格获得这笔钱。他说："多年来迪克?格拉索显示出了卓越的领导才能，对此我感到很满意，而且，我们想延长他的合约。"
麦克考尔说，披露薪酬的数额是纽约证交所提高其透明度并加强公司治理努力的一部分。
纽约证交所的监管者SEC的官员也表示，SEC主席威廉?唐纳森(William Donaldson)对格拉索的薪酬也表示关注。唐纳森是纽约证交所前董事长。
委员会的一位官员称，该委员会将对全面细致地审查这一问题以及他们的薪酬制定，因为预料到这将为其他上市公司确立榜样，因此很多人都很关注。
薪酬专家也对格拉索的薪酬之巨感到惊讶。
纽约的经理人薪酬咨询公司Pearl Meyer & Partners Inc.总裁史蒂文?豪尔(Steven Hall)说，"我不敢肯定是否有很多CEO的退休金超过了1亿美元。"
在纽约证交所工作了30多年的格拉索的年薪将是240万美元，其中包括低薪140万美元和至少100美元的奖金。
负责纽约证交所传讯的执行副总裁罗伯特?济托(Robert Zito)说："你看看（格拉索）在纽约证交所这36年的成绩就知道。他做的每一个决定都是正确的决定，每一步都是正确的。"
今年早些时候，《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)报导，格拉索近几年的年薪高达2千万美元，这一数额令纽约证交所的很多成员均感到吃惊。
