Top execs at Finra had to make do with only modest bumps in pay last year as the regulator faced red ink.
Finra lost $39.5 million in 2015, whereas it had enjoyed a net income of $129 million in 2014.
As a result, pay increases for the top dogs at Finra were generally under 1 percent, according to its annual report, released Thursday.
Chief executive Richard Ketchum pulled in $2.91 million in salary, incentive pay and deferred compensation last year, up 0.7 percent from 2014.
Despite the muted raises, running Finra (a nonprofit) is still a good gig financially. Eight Finra executives pulled in $1 million or more in total pay last year.
Overall, Finra’s revenues were $992.5 million, down 0.4 percent from 2014. Expenses increased 7.6 percent to $1.04 billion.
The cost increases came from the regulator’s expansion into options surveillance and investments in cloud migration, Finra said.
Lower income from its $1.98 billion investment portfolio and reduced fines also attributed to the shortfall.
Finra had portfolio returns of 0.4 percent in 2015, down from 5.8 percent in 2014, a swing of $91.1 million.
Total fines decreased year over year to $93.8 million, from $132.6 million.
Traditionally, Finra has relied on investment returns to supplement its budget.