NYSE Euronext (NYX) Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer collected
29% less in direct compensation last year as the Big Board parent's
net income fell by roughly the same amount, according to a
regulatory filing.
Mr. Niederauer's pay fell by $3.7 million to $8.9 million last
year after the NYSE board determined to tie executives' pay more
closely to the exchange group's overall financial performance,
documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
showed.
Full-year profits at NYSE fell 29% to $462 million in 2012, hit
by slackened investor enthusiasm for trading stocks and
low-and-steady interest rates that muted trading activity in
futures markets. A slowdown in software spending by financial
services firms blunted sales in NYSE's technology division.
Other NYSE executives collected an average 21% less in
compensation last year versus 2011 levels, according to the filing.
Bonuses awarded to named executives for 2012 performance were an
average 25% lower than the prior year.
NYSE officials in the filing wrote that restricted stock units
awarded this year as part of the company's long-term incentive
program wouldn't immediately vest upon closing of NYSE's takeover
by larger rival IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE). Mr. Niederauer
was awarded $1.5 million in such shares, according to the filing,
while other NYSE executives received $900,000 to $1.35 million in
such awards.
Mr. Niederauer voluntarily shifted $1.5 million in long-term
incentive awards to an employee pool earlier this year, according
to the document.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires