UPDATE 1-Jefferies CEO made $45 mln in 2012, including grants
* Handler's total includes $39 mln in grants for 2013-2015
* CEO's pay was $19 mln excluding future grants
* Jefferies agreed to be bought by Leucadia National in 2012
* Handler due to take the reins of the combined company
Jan 29 (Reuters) - Jefferies Group Inc paid Chief Executive Richard Handler $45.2 million in 2012, making him one of Wall Street's most highly compensated executives, according to a securities filing on Tuesday.
Handler's pay package included $1 million in salary, a $5 million bonus and $39 million in stock grants that would cover 2013 to 2015, according to the filing.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tallies pay that was expensed during the company's fiscal year to calculate total compensation.
Handler made $19 million in 2012 when counting a $1 million salary, a $5 million bonus and a $13 million stock grant under an earlier long-term incentive plan. The CEO volunteered to have his bonus reduced by $3.1 million from the $8.1 million he could have received, according to the filing.
Jefferies handed its CEO a sizable compensation package at a time when other banks are cutting pay and slashing their staff to reduce expenses.
JPMorgan Chase & Co halved Jamie Dimon's bonus after the bank took losses on its "London Whale" trade, reducing his pay to $11.5 million for 2012. Morgan Stanley is paying CEO James Gorman $6 million, down about 30 percent excluding long-term incentive compensation.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc CEO Lloyd Blankfein, however, received a more than 50 percent increase in restricted shares as part of his bonus for 2012, according to filings last week. 1/8ID: nL1E9CIII4 3/8
Jefferies' shares rose 35 percent in 2012 as the bank agreed to sell itself to its largest shareholder, Leucadia National Corp, and financial stocks in general rebounded. Handler is set to take the reigns of the combined company from Leucadia CEO Ian Cumming.
Handler made $1.2 million in 2011 when Jefferies' stock fell 48 percent amid questions about its European exposure, according to a tally under SEC guidelines. In 2010, he received $47.3 million, including grants for past and future years.
In September, Jefferies executives said the investment bank aimed to pay less of its revenue to employees over the next two years but will not come down to the 50 percent ratio that many industry peers target.