As has been revealed by the San Francisco based bank in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, Wells Fargo & Co.'s five top level executives managed to bag compensations worth over $11 Million for the past year, with the highest package valued at $21.3 Million awarded to Chief Executive John Stumpf.

For each of the executives, compensation managed to grow by more than double the amount pocketed for 2008, and in some cases, it actually more than tripled. 2008 was the year in which Wells Fargo, which is now the fourth-largest American bank on the basis of assets, accepted public funds from the US Treasury and purchased Wachovia Corp., its larger rival which was then struggling to survive during the peak of the global recession.

Mr. Stumpf received a salary of $5.6 Million and $13.1 Million in stock-based awards. His pension also increased in value by $2.6 Million. In 2008, his compensation had come to a total of $8.8 Million.

In December, Wells Fargo repaid the $25 Billion it had received in TARP funds, freeing itself from all the Federal caps on pays to be awarded to staff members.