Nearly 10% Earned $1 Million, But Most Got Less than Half That
Last year was not a good one for the banking industry. And many bank executives took the hit where it counts - in their paychecks.
Less than 10% of the chief executive officers at the top banks in the country pulled in more than $1 million in compensation last year. For the most part, the banking elite made between $250,000 and $500,000.
Compared with compensation for CEOs in other industries, those aren't big paychecks, according to Emanuel N. Monogenis, who heads the New York-based financial institutions arm of Heidrick & Struggles Inc. One reason may be that many banks (76%) tie executive compensation to profits. So when profits are off, pay is off.
When asked to indicate total cash compensation (salary and bonus) for 1990, 9% of the CEOs said they made more than $1 million. Another 20% said they made between $500,000 and $1 million. Only 4% said their compensation was less than $250,000.
Although 95% of the respondents own stock in their banks, their holdings are not weighty. Twenty-one percent of the CEOs interviewed hold less than 5,000 shares.
Twenty percent of the CEOs said they owned between 5,001 and 15,000 shares of stock, and another 26% have between 15,001 and 40,000 shares. Eighteen percent hold 40,001 to 100,000 shares, and 15% own more than 100,000 shares of stock.
Other popular perks are city club memberships (80%), country club memberships (75%), and a company-paid automobile (64%). Slightly more than half of the survey respondents receive deferred compensation (56%), extra life insurance (52%), and financial counseling (51%).
Travel-related perks also made the list for about one-quarter of the respondents. Twenty-seven percent of the CEOs are allowed first class air travel, and another 23% fly in company-owned airplanes.
