CEO Lewis's merger-year pay: $22m

Bank of America Corp. paid its chief executive, Kenneth D. Lewis, more than $22 million last year, as his North Carolina bank absorbed FleetBoston Financial Corp. and gained thousands of new customers in the Northeast.

Lewis received $7.2 million in salary and bonus, plus $15 million in various stock awards, including restricted stock and stock options, the bank disclosed in a regulatory filing yesterday.

The top Boston executive, Brian Moynihan, made more than $11 million in salary, bonus, and stock. Moynihan's pay this year includes restricted stock and cash that he received as part of his employment agreements with the bank.

A Bank of America spokesman, Terry Francisco, said the bank posted strong earnings and shareholder returns last year, outpacing the other banks in its peer group. Bank of America's stock ended the year at $46.99 per share, providing a 21 percent return for shareholders in 2004, after adjusting for a 2-for-1 stock split in August.

''We follow the pay-for-performance philosophy, and we're very proud of our performance in 2004," Francisco said.

The bank also disclosed the retirement plans of its various top executives yesterday. Lewis will receive nearly $3.5 million a year when he retires, the bank said. Moynihan, president of the Global Wealth and Investment Management division, is eligible to receive annual benefits ranging from $98,350 to nearly $3.6 million, depending on his average salary and length of service.

Despite heated criticism in New England over layoffs as Bank of America consolidated Fleet's operations, Bank of America added 174,000 new checking accounts in the Northeast, compared with 35,000 under Fleet the year before. It stepped up its efforts to sell more products to customers who walk into its branches.

Kenneth D. Lewis, Bank of America's chief executive, has called the merger the ''smoothest, most positive" transition he has ever seen.

Bank of America also has won over some critics. Lee Forker, president of the Boston investment firm New England Research & Management, said the bank has shown that it is much more sensitive to consumers' needs than Fleet was. He sold his stock soon after the deal, but said he is considering whether to reinvest in Bank of America stock.

''I really didn't think when they were laying off the tellers that consumers would be pleased," he said. ''They did more than a masterful job of damage control. It wasn't all puffery, there was some substance. A year and a half later, people don't feel abandoned, as if we have an outfit headquartered on Mars."

Sasha Talcott can be reached at stalcott@globe.com.