It appears that market participants' collective memory reaches about 10 years.

The biggest US banks have now all completed their disclosures on executive compensation, and as Barron's' Al Root reports, they tell an important story...

Overall, chief executives at the six banks earned more than $152 million in 2018.

That eclipses the $141 million the same banks paid their top bosses in 2008 - the year before banker pay tanked after the financial crisis.

But they deserve it right?

Wrong! From the end of November 2007 - the 2007-2009 recession began in December - to today, the average total annual shareholder return for those six banks is about negative 0.8%.

The average annual return from holding the S&P Bank ETF (KBE) over the same span is negative 0.1%.

Finally, it is of note that all of the chief executives have changed since the crisis... except one - JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon.