Bank of America CFO is highest paid among big banks

Bank of America Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson was the top paid among his counterparts at the nation's largest banks last year, according to a new report from SNL Financial.

Thompson brought in more than $11.4 million in total compensation in 2012, the majority coming from a cash bonus and stock awards. That easily edged out the second-highest paid chief financial officer of last year -- JPMorgan Chase's Douglas Braunstein, who made $10.5 million. He's since been named vice chairman. Wells Fargo CFO Tim Sloan came in third, with $9 million in compensation last year.

Nationwide, chief financial officer pay is rising quickly. In the last three years, the median salary for all bank CFOs rose 34 percent, to more than $291,000. George Paulin, CEO of the Frederic W. Cook & Co. consulting firm, told SNL that chief financial officers at banks are doing better than their peers at similarly-sized companies in other industries.

He attributed that to the complexity of bank regulations and the upward influence of large salaries for the investment bankers and traders below them.

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