David McKay, chief executive of Royal Bank of Canada, received total compensation of just over $7.5-million in 2014, for his first year at the helm of the bank.
That amounts to a 39 per cent boost to his pay in 2013, when he was RBC's group head of personal and commercial banking.
Mr. McKay looks like a bargain next to RBC's previous chief, Gordon Nixon, who took home nearly $9.2-million last year.
The numbers are a little wonky, though, given that neither executive held their respective roles for a full year. Mr. McKay's pay reflects three months as chief executive and nine months in his previous role; Mr. Nixon's pay is for serving nine months as chief executive.
Mr. McKay's salary is in line with his banking peers, at just shy of $1-million. The rest of his compensation comes in the form of cash incentives for clearing short-term financial objectives and share-based compensation for meeting longer-term goals.
In the first-quarter reporting season, RBC's results shone next to a lacklustre group average for the Big Six banks. The bank reported net income of nearly $2.5-billion, up 17 per cent year-over-year, despite concerns about cheap oil prices, lower interest rates and a weaker dollar.