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NEW YORK (AP) -- The chairman, president and chief executive of Zions Bancorp received compensation valued at $1.5 million in 2008, a 7 percent decrease from the previous year, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing.
The Salt Lake City-based regional bank paid Harris H. Simmons a base salary of $875,000 -- roughly a 3 percent increase from the prior year. Just as in 2007, Simmons did not receive any bonus, according to the company's proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
Simmons received stock options valued at $441,210 on the day they were granted. He also received perks from the bank valued at $149,379. These included company contributions to certain savings and benefit plans and a standard Christmas bonus of $101 that is given to all the bank's employees in Utah.
In 2007, Simmons received a compensation package valued at about $1.6 million, according to a calculation by The Associated Press.
Like nearly all banks, Zions has battled rising loan losses amid the worsening economy. The bank lost $290.7 million, or $2.66 per share in 2008, down from a profit of $479.4 million, or $4.42 per share, the year before.
Zions shares lost 48 percent in 2008, and have fallen about 50 percent so far this year.
The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year. It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which reflect the size of the accounting charge taken for the executive's compensation in the previous fiscal year.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
