“American Express Co.'s Chief Executive Kenneth I. Chenault has received total compensation valued at $17.4 million in 2009 as the company grappled with fragile credit markets and the quality of its card loans, and repaid federal aid. Kenneth I. Chenault This amount includes a base salary of $1.2 million, a cash bonus of $5.1 million and $5.33 million in cash payments arising from American Express's nonequity incentive compensation, the company said in a definitive proxy filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Chenault made $28.8 million in 2008 and $33.9 million in 2007, the filing noted. As part of the $17.4 million he made in 2009, Mr. Chenault received no stock award and nearly $4 million in options, substantially lower than the $9.5 million stock award and $9.8 million of options he got in 2008. Included in earnings for 2009 are $660,272 in perks Mr. Chenault is entitled to, such as the $401,527 spent on personal use of the company's aircraft. Starting this year, Mr. Chenault will reimburse American Express for personal use of the aircraft exceeding around $200,000 per year, the filing said. Unlike other charge-card companies, American Express both issues cards and processes transactions. It issues both charge cards requiring a monthly payoff and credit cards on which customers can carry a balance. Therefore, a big chunk of its revenue comes from fees it charges banks and merchants, such as grocery stores or gas stations, to process card payments. In January, American Express said Mr. Chenault would get, effective Feb. 1, a base salary of $2 million, up from $1.2 million in 2009. This pay increase marked a shift in the compensation mix, which boosted base salary while reducing the cash bonus component of total compensation, American Express said at the time. Overall compensation for executives "continues to be weighted toward longer-term incentives, particularly stock-based awards," the company said in the Jan. 29 filing. An American Express spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the regulatory filing Tuesday. In January, Mr. Chenault was also awarded an option to buy 650,918 shares of American Express at $38.10. He may choose to exercise them from Jan. 26, 2011, through Jan. 26, 2020. The company reported higher earnings in the fourth quarter, beating analysts' expectations. Its results were boosted by an increase in consumer spending and improvements in the credit quality of its card loans. American Express repaid in June the $3.4 billion in federal funds it received as part of the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Write to Aparajita Saha-Bubna at Aparajita.Saha-Bubna@dowjones.com Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com More In Business Email Printer Friendly Order Reprints Share: facebook Twitter Digg StumbleUpon Viadeo Orkut Yahoo! Buzz Fark Reddit LinkedIn del.icio.us MySpace ”
