KeyCorp’s CEO pay rises 15 percent on higher base salary

KeyCorp’s CEO pay rises on higher base salary

NEW YORK — The chief executive of KeyCorp bank holding company saw his compensation rise 15 percent last year as his base salary rose, according to an Associated Press calculation.

Henry Meyer got a pay package worth about $5.1 million in 2009, based on figures in a March 5 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He received about $4.5 million in 2008.

Meyer’s base salary rose to $1.6 million from $1 million. His stock and option awards were $3.4 million as of the date they were granted, up from $3.3 million in 2008.

Meyer got perks and other compensation worth $83,300. That included $61,200 in retirement contributions, $12,500 for financial planning services, $3,000 for disability insurance and $3,500 for club dues.

Meyer, 60, has been chairman and CEO of KeyCorp, which is based in Cleveland, since 2001.

The AP’s calculation of executives’ pay includes salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations don’t include changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

KeyCorp, along with the rest of the banking industry, has been slammed by losses on souring loans in the economic downturn. But it said its losses narrowed and delinquencies improved in the final quarter of last year.

Shares of KeyCorp advanced 11 cents to $7.67 in afternoon trading.