A MarketWatch analysis of forfeitures and so-called clawbacks of compensation by the Securities and Exchange Commission or by companies themselves shows that the Wells Fargo WFC, -1.62% orced forfeiture of $41 million in future compensation by Chairman and CEO John Stumpf is neither the biggest nor the toughest ever. The same goes for the giveback of $19 million in unvested share awards by the bank’s former community-banking head, Carrie Tolstedt, the analysis, supported by Audit Analytics, found.

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When Tyco International Ltd. JCI, +1.02% sued former CEO Dennis Kozlowski, it had only the power of litigation to back its claim for more than $500 million in compensation and benefits the company said he had looted. Tyco successfully sued Kozlowski, who had been convicted and jailed in 2005 for the massive fraud.

When the SEC went after William McGuire of Health South, it had only the highly controversial and relatively untested clawback provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. But the SEC enjoyed a successful run of lawsuits against executives who had illegally backdated their stock options. McGuire’s case, for undeserved gains obtained by falsely dating his grants to maximize his profit, was the most egregious of all the stock-option-backdating suits. The SEC used the power of the new law in 2007 to claw back $448 million in profits from the scheme and a total of $600 million after additional penalties and interest.

Divesh Sharma, a professor at Kennesaw State University whose research focuses on company clawback policies, told MarketWatch that, until 2006, few companies had them. “In 2003, there were only four, by my count,” he said. “In 2004, I found only 16, and in 2005 only 25. Suddenly in 2006, I counted 150.”

According to Sharma, Wells Fargo had no policy until 2008.

That’s because, that year, President George W. Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which established the Troubled Asset Relief Program to bail out big banks battered by the financial crisis. In return for their bailout funds, banks like Wells Fargo were required to implement “a provision for the recovery by the financial institution of any bonus or incentive compensation paid to a senior executive officer based on statements of earnings, gains, or other criteria that are later proven to be materially inaccurate.”

“We are definitely in uncharted territory here,” said corporate governance expert Nell Minow, the vice chairwoman of ValueEdge Advisors. “It’s not enough, but it is a step in the right direction.”

“ ‘It’s not enough, but it is a step in the right direction.’ ” — Nell Minow, ValueEdge Advisors

Stumpf and Tolstedt are only forfeiting future compensation. Wells Fargo hasn't decided, yet, whether it will claw back any money already paid. “Based on the results of the investigation, the independent members of the board will take such other actions as they collectively deem appropriate,” according to a company press release issued Tuesday, “which may include further compensation actions before any additional equity awards vest or bonus decisions are made early next year, clawbacks of compensation already paid out, and other employment-related actions.”

See also:Senator presses Stumpf on Wells Fargo’s duty to disclose

Stumpf also will forgo his salary while the company’s new investigation of the allegedly fraudulent account openings by retail-bank employees is pending, and he won't receive a bonus for 2016. Analysts at KBW estimated the value of his sacrifice of future pay to be $47.8 million if the investigation lasts a year and no further forfeiture is required.

Tolstedt will forfeit all of her unvested equity awards, estimated at $19 million, and won't receive a 2016 bonus. Her cash bonus was $850,000 in 2015. Instead of retiring at the end of the year, as announced in July, Tolstedt will leave the bank immediately, but it is not known if her termination is being designated as having been for cause.

The company said Tolstedt won't be paid severance or receive any “retirement enhancements.” A previous press release stated that she was eligible for retirement benefits, having spent 27 years at Wells Fargo and a predecessor bank, Norwest.

Executive Company Title Year/event Amount Clawback/forfeiture William McGuire United Health UNH, -1.64% CEO 2007/Illegal stock option backdating gains 2003-06 $600 million SEC SOx clawback Dennis Kozlowski Tyco TYC, CEO 2012/Massive fraud that resulted in litigation by company $505.8 million Tyco litigation John Stumpf Wells Fargo WFC, -1.62% CEO 2016/Retail accounts fraud $41 million Company forced forfeiture of future compensation Kobi Alexander Comverse CEO 2016/Options backdating in 2016 $26.2 million SEC forced disgorgement Carrie Tolstedt Wells Fargo WFC, -1.62% EVP 2016/Retail accounts fraud $19 million Company forced forfeiture of future compensation Jamie Dimon JPM JPM, -1.09% CEO 2012/“London Whale” loss of 2011 $11.5 million Company forced forfeiture of future compensation Ian McCarthy Beazer BZH, +6.11% CEO 2011/Restatement of 2006 results as a result of accounting fraud $6.5 million cash, 40,103 restricted stock units (or its equivalent), and 78,763 shares of restricted stock (or its equivalent). SEC SOx clawback Doug Braunstein JPM JPM, -1.09% CFO 2012/“London Whale” loss $4.5 million Company forced forfeiture of future compensation. Michael Laphen CSC US:CSC CEO 2015/Accounting fraud in 2010-12 $3.7 million SEC SOx clawback Maynard Jenkins CSK CEO 2011/Fraud in 2002-04 $2.8 million SEC SOx clawback Babak Yazdani Saba CEO 2015/Fraud in 2008-12 $2.5 million SEC SOx clawback Carl Jasper Maxim CFO 2006/Related to restatement of 2002-05 results $1.8 million SEC SOx clawback Daniel Ustian Navistar NAV, +0.30% CEO 2005/Restatement of 2000-02 results due to accounting fraud $1.3 million SEC SOx clawback James O’Leary Beazer BZH, +6.11% CFO 2011/Restatement of 2006 results owing to accounting fraud $1 million cash bonus, $131,733 for all restricted stock units and $274,525 in stock sale profits. SEC SOx clawback Robert Lannert Navistar NAV, +0.30% CFO 2005/Restatement of 2000-02 due to accounting fraud $1.1 million SEC SOx clawback Michael Strianese L3 Communications US:LVLT CEO 2014/Internal review of misconduct and accounting errors resulting in $146 million adjustment for 2011-14 $1.1 million Company clawback Michael Koss Koss KOSS, -0.92% CEO 2011/Fraud and embezzlement that occurred in 2005-09 $242,419 in cash and 160,000 of options plus previous voluntary reimbursement of $208,895 for 2008-2010 bonuses. SEC SOx clawback Walden O’Dell Diebold DBD, +0.82% CEO 2010/Accounting fraud SEC SOx clawback Ina Drew, Achilles Macris, Javier Martin-Artajo and Bruno Iksil JPM JPM, -1.09% Various 2012/“London Whale” loss Unknown Company didn't disclose amounts in SEC filings but told press at the time it would represent about two years of total annual compensation and include restricted stock and canceled stock options grants.

Source:MarketWatch analysis of top take-backs since 2002 based on SEC enforcement orders and company SEC filings, with Audit Analytics data-gathering assistance.

Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of J.P. Morgan & Co. Inc., and his chief financial officer at the time, Doug Braunstein, also suffered the loss of future compensation when J.P. Morgan restated its financials in 2011 by $459 million to adjust for improperly accounting for a $6 billion loss resulting from bad trades.

The SEC declined to pursue Sarbanes-Oxley clawbacks against Dimon and Braunstein, even though they met the criteria for such action. The adjustment was considered material, and there was clear misconduct. Bruno Iksil, the trader dubbed the “London Whale,” entered into a nonprosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice under which he wouldn't be required to plead guilty to any crime. The Securities and Exchange Commission and British regulators decided to take no action against Iksil. Another two former J.P. Morgan traders, Julien Grout and Javier Martin-Artajo, are still facing extradition to the U.S. from France and Spain, respectively, to answer civil and criminal charges related to the bank’s $6 billion “Whale” trading loss.

Dimon gave up $11.5 million when the bank decided to eliminate his 2012 cash bonus and stock-appreciation rights grant, and to reduce his restricted-stock units grant by $2 million, effectively cutting his total compensation for the following year by 50%.

Braunstein tossed back $4.5 million in future earnings by forgoing his 2012 cash bonus and stock-appreciation rights and absorbing a reduction in his restricted-stock grant.

While John Stumpf’s $41 million forfeiture places third on MarketWatch’s list of all-time paycheck take-backs, the SEC’s clawback of compensation that had already been earned under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has arguably been a more painful remedy.

Kobi Alexander, the former fugitive CEO of Comverse, recently settled stock-option-backdating allegations with the SEC for $26.2 million—all money previously paid him or earned from stock sales.

Ian McCarthy, the former CEO of Beazer, gave up $6.5 million in cash and the value of 40,103 restricted-share units and 78,763 shares of restricted stock when he settled with the SEC in 2011 over a 2006 restatement due to accounting fraud.

“The lightbulb went on in investors’ minds during the financial crisis about the perverse incentives that had led to risky decisions by bankers,” Minow told MarketWatch. “Stumpf and Tolstedt were granted these incentive awards based on perverse incentives they implemented at the branch level. They should have to feel the consequences of those decisions.”