Ameriprise CEO took home $64.7 million in 2017

James Cracchiolo earned $23.9 million in direct compensation and cashed in $40.8 million in stock options; Wells Fargo's Tim Sloan got $17.4 million even as bank stuggled through more scandals.

Ameriprise CEO James Cracchiolo received a 44% pay raise last year, boosting his direct compensation to $23.9 million. In addition, he cashed in about $40.8 million in stock options.

Because the options were given to Mr. Cracchiolo prior to 2017, they are not counted as part of his total direct compensation by the company.

Mr. Cracchiolo’s compensation was reported in the company’s annual proxy statement.

“Overall financial performance for Ameriprise was quite strong in 2017, with results favorable to our planned expectations across all financial dimensions including revenue, net income, and earnings per share,” the company said in the proxy filing. For example, earnings per share grew 26% on a year-over-year basis, which contributed “to strong improvement in Ameriprise total shareholder return,” according to the proxy filing.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo & Co. paid its CEO, Timothy Sloan, $17.4 million in total compensation in 2017, the first full year he has led the bank, according to its proxy statement. That’s up from the $13 million he earned in 2016, when for most of the year he served as president and chief operating officer. He became president in October 2016.

Wells Fargo last year, “recommitted” its vision and values, according to the proxy filing, although it has contined to be dogged by scandals. “Our journey to strengthen our culture is an ongoing process that starts with making sure that all of our team members have a consistent understanding of our vision, values, and goals,” the company said.

Wells Fargo addressed compliance issues as part of Mr. Sloan’s 2017 pay. “Mr. Sloan recommended that the [human resources committee] and board not award him an annual incentive for 2017 based on his ultimate responsibility, as CEO, for our company’s performance, which included significant but incomplete progress on addressing compliance and operational risk-management issues,” according to the proxy statement.