The heads of Canada's big banks are consistently some of the best-paid bosses in the country. And even though there is no threat they will lose that title this year, few of them have managed to book significant raises in 2011.
Four of Canada's six largest banks have now revealed executive pay figures for the past year and the trend so far has been one of flat or lower compensation in the corner office compared to the previous year, amid an environment of slowing growth in the financial sector.
Bank of Nova Scotia said Monday that its chief executive officer, Rick Waugh, took home $10.62-million in 2011, which represented a slight drop in pay – less than 1 per cent – from the year before. But after several years of salary increases for bank bosses, the numbers are noteworthy for the absence of big raises.
Only Bank of Montreal CEO Bill Downe has seen a significant jump in pay so far, with a 12-per-cent boost in total compensation to $11.4-million.
Toronto-Dominion Bank CEO Ed Clark had total compensation of $11.38-million, roughly the same as in 2010, while Royal Bank of Canada disclosed that CEO Gord Nixon saw his total compensation drop 6 per cent in 2011, to $11.17-million.
The executive compensation figures are included in the proxy circulars for each bank, which are made public in advance of their annual meetings. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada have yet to make their figures public.
Mr. Waugh had total direct compensation of $10.616-million at Scotiabank that included a base salary of $1.5-million, $3.86-million in options, $3.86-million in share awards and another $1.4-million in annual incentives. That was down slightly from his total direct compensation of $10.66-million the year before.
Mr. Waugh's total compensation, which includes direct compensation, expenses and pension contributions, was $10.617-million. That was down from last year's total of $13.75-million, when Mr. Waugh was granted $3.1-million toward his pension.
Michael Durland, head of global capital markets for Scotiabank, had total compensation of $7.25-million in 2011, down from $8.03-million the year before. The change was owing mostly to slightly lower bonus payouts in a turbulent year for capital markets revenue across the sector.
Sarabjit Marwah, Scotiabank's vice-chairman and chief operating officer, had $5.32-million in total compensation in 2011, compared to $2.3-million in 2010 when his compensation was lower owing to a pension-related charge. In 2009, Mr. Marwah's total compensation was $6.1-million.
Luc Vanneste, Scotiabank's chief financial officer, had total compensation of $2.4-million in 2011, compared to $2.47-million the year before. Stephen McDonald, Scotiabank's head of global corporate and investment banking, made $5.15-million, up from about $5-million.
Grant Robertson