As bad as 2008 was for Merrill Lynch, it was very good for Andrea Orcel, the firm's top investment banker. Although Merrill's net loss ballooned to $27.6bn (€22bn) last year, Orcel, 45 years old, was paid $33.8m in cash and stock, just shy of his pay in 2007.

While Merrill staggered, 11 top executives were paid more than $10m in cash and stock last year, say people familiar with the situation. An additional 149 received $3m or more. The stock awards, which accounted for much of the compensation, have fallen sharply in value since they were made last year.