The chief executive JP Morgan was granted a 51 per cent pay rise in 2010, the bank revealed on Tuesday. Jamie Dimon, who has been at the head of JP Morgan since December 2005, was granted a $5m (£3m) performance-related cash bonus, as well as $17m (£10.4m) in stock options on top of his basic yearly salary of $1m (£611,273).

This constitutes a 51 per cent rise compared to 2009, when Dimon received $14.1m (£8.6m), but no bonus. In 2010, JP Morgan - America's second largest bank - made a $17bn (£10.6bn) net profit, which is also a 50 per cent increase, compared to 2009.

The Securities exchange commission (SEC) - the American financial watchdog - revealed other allowances granted to Dimon by his employers. JP Morgan paid for Dimon's move from Chicago to New York, car and flight expenses, which cost a total of $550,000 (£336,233).

The news of Jamie Dimon's raise came in the same week in which rival Goldman Sachs revealed it had also generously rewarded its chief executive, Lloyd Blankfein, granting him a yearly amount of $18.6m (£11.4m), including a $5.4m cash bonus.