Mr Richard Grasso, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) chairman and chief executive, was paid a lump sum of $139 million (€127.6 million) in deferred compensation and his contract was extended to 2007, the NYSE said yesterday in an unprecedented move to disclose the compensation of its leadership.

The sum is more than the NYSE's combined net income for the past three full years and consisted of $40 million from an executive savings plan, accrued retirement benefits of $51.6 million and $47.9 million relating to previous incentive awards.

The NYSE statement quoted Mr Grasso as saying that he withdrew the accumulated compensation "in order to facilitate personal financial and estate planning". He said he would pay full income taxes on the sum.

Mr Grasso's compensation has been the subject of criticism since it was reported in May that he earned more than $10 million in salary and bonuses last year. Criticisms of the NYSE's corporate governance practices prompted its board to announce in June that it would make executive compensation public.

"It's a phenomenal sum," said Mr Charles Elson, a professor of corporate governance at the University of Delaware. "It's an entrepreneurial sum for someone who is essentially a regulator."

Mr Grasso's contract was due to expire in 2005 and the move to renew it could be seen as a vote of confidence from the exchange.

Ms Sarah Teslik, Council of Institutional Investors executive director, which has compiled a report of the NYSE's governance practices, questioned the renewal of Mr Grasso's contract.

His annual base salary will be unchanged at $1.4 million, with a "target annual bonus" of no less than $1 million, the NYSE said.

Mr Grasso's salary is set by the compensation committee of the NYSE board of directors, who include DaimlerChrysler head Mr Jurgen Schrempp, and Mr Mel Karmazin and Mr Gerald Levin of Viacom.