[ by Melanie Gretchen ]

At Bank of America, everyone takes a hit – though not everyone is secure in holding onto his or her job.  After the share price of the 2nd-biggest U.S. lender plunged 58% in 2011, the firm sold off $33 billion in assets and announced 30,000 job cuts – in addition to cuts in compensation for many, including the CEO's compensation for 2011.

Cuts at the Top. While 2012 has been an entirely different story – BAC has climbed 44% YTD, establishing the bank as the top performer in the 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average – Bank of America cut CEO Brian Moynihan’s compensation for 2011.  He was granted no cash bonus and his annual salary was frozen at $950,000, according to a person in the bank's Charlotte, NC headquarters.  BofA has not yet made a public announcement about Moynihan's pay package.

What the CEO Does Get. What Brian Moynihan, 52, lacks in cash bonus, he makes up in stock awards. He received an award of $6 million in restricted stock units, mostly linked to future performance, according to a regulatory filing.  For 2010, that grant surpassed $9 million.  This year's award consists of 228,000 stock units that are paid out in 12 monthly installments and nearly 533,000 in performance-contingent units that he may receive as early as March 2015 – if performance hurdles are met.  The value is based on the market closing price on award date, 2/15/12.

Payouts at BofA Rivals. Here's how some of Mr. Moynihan's peers fared for 2011:

• Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman saw a 2011 pay cut of 25% from a year earlier.  He'll receive $10.5 million, plus $5 million in shares, according to 1/20/12 regulatory filings.
• JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's 2011 compensation was comparable to 2010.  He reportedly may receive $23 million (total pay amounts aren’t public, yet), and he received over $17 million in stock and options, according to regulatory filings.
• Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein saw his restricted stock bonus fall 44% to $7 million, in response to the firm's 2011 47% drop in earnings, due largely to a decline in fixed-income trading revenue.

For further details, go to  [Bloomberg, 2/18/12].