Mastercard CEO 2010 pay valued at $11.9 mln

MasterCard Inc. (MA) Chief Executive Ajay S. Banga received total compensation valued at $11.9 million in 2010, a year in which the company reported strong gains in profit fueled by higher consumer spending.

The $11.9 million includes a base salary of $850,000, a cash bonus of $2.1 million and stock awards valued at $4.6 million, the company said in a definitive proxy filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

This amount also includes $1.9 million cash payments arising from MasterCard's non-equity incentive compensation and stock option awards valued at $2.2 million on their grant date.

Banga, who joined MasterCard in August 2009 and took the helm last July, made $11.3 million in 2009.

MasterCard's former CEO, Robert W. Selander, received total compensation valued at $20 million last year. This amount includes a base salary of $1 million, stock awards valued at $2.8 million, a cash bonus of $10.1 million and $2.1 million cash payments arising from MasterCard's non-equity incentive compensation, according to the filing. The bulk of the cash bonus--$10 million--comprised a special retention payment linked to "termination or change-in-control," the filing said.

Unlike traditional credit-card issuers, MasterCard, based in Purchase, N.Y., and rival Visa Inc. V -0.19% don't lend to consumers. MasterCard and Visa make money from the fees they charge banks to process card payments on the plastic these banks issue. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (C) are among the top issuers of MasterCard- and Visa-branded cards.