Bonus ban wallops Finra officials in the wallet

Faced with withering criticism about pay levels, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. last year paid no bonuses to its top executives. As a result, top officials at the regulator saw their take-home pay fall by more than half last year, compared with 2008. The pay levels were disclosed in Finra's 2009 annual report, which was published on the regulator's website today. Chief executive Richard Ketchum's $1 million salary last year was 55% less than the $2,242,308 he received in 2008, when he got a $1,250,000 bonus. Among other highly paid officers, vice chairman Stephen Luparello took a 52% cut, to $600,000; and chief financial officer Todd Diganci suffered a 58% drop in total pay, to $500,000. In the past, executives' pay was disclosed only in Finra's public tax returns, which are filed later than its annual report. The inclusion of executive compensation in the annual report is the result of a non-binding proxy proposal put forth by Amerivet Securities Inc., and overwhelmingly approved by Finra member firms in August. The proxy proposal, one of seven approved by members, asked Finra to disclose executive pay in its annual reports. Last week the Finra board announced it would act on three of the seven proposals, including disclosure of compensation in its annual report. But the board rejected a plan that would give Finra members some say on the pay of top officials at the regulator.