BofA markets chief was bank's highest paid executive in 2012

By Rick Rothacker

REUTERS - Bank of America Corp's co-chief operating officer, Tom Montag, was once again the bank's highest paid executive in 2012, as his pay climbed 21 percent to $14.5 million.

Montag's compensation, which included a $5.46 million bonus and $8.19 million in stock, eclipsed the $12 million awarded to Chief Executive Brian Moynihan, according to a filing the bank made on Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Executive pay packages rose in 2012 as Bank of America's shares climbed more than 100 percent and the bank resolved some of its mortgage-related legal problems.

Moynihan, whose compensation was disclosed last month, was the bank's second-highest-paid executive after his total rose more than 70 percent to $12 million thanks to a higher stock grant of $11.1 million. He did not receive a cash bonus.

Montag, who runs global banking and markets businesses, has frequently made more money than his boss since joining Bank of America in its 2009 acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. In 2012, he also earned more than the CEOs at JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley.

Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson made $11 million, followed by co-Chief Operating Officer David Darnell and general counsel Gary Lynch.

(Reporting by Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, N.C.; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)