McKay tops bank CEO pay as strong earnings lead to compensation bump

Strong performance for Canada’s big banks last year led to pay increases for executives as most leaders’ compensation exceeded their targets.

Royal Bank of Canada CEO David McKay had the largest paycheque, receiving $15.5 million in direct compensation, a 25% increase from the previous year.

In addition to his base salary of $1.5 million, McKay received more than $4 million in short-term incentives based on the bank meeting financial, client, risk and strategic objectives. McKay’s short-term incentive award was 82% above target.

The rest of McKay’s compensation came from performance deferred share units and stock options totalling almost $10 million.

RBC reported a $16.1-billion profit last year, up 40% from 2020.

TD Bank Group CEO Bharat Masrani received $13.4 million in direct compensation, $1.6 million more than his target and up from $10.4 million in 2020. On top of his $1.5-million salary, Masrani received $2.4 million in cash incentives, $6.4 million in performance share units and $3.1 million in stock options.

TD reported a $14.3-billion profit last year, a 20% increase from the previous year.

Bank of Montreal CEO Darryl White received $12.7 million in direct compensation, exceeding his $10.5-million target and up from $9.3 million the previous year. In addition to his $1-million salary, White received $3.4 million in short-term incentives, $6.4 million in performance share units and $1.9 million in stock options.

BMO reported net income of nearly $7.8 billion last year, up from $5 billion in 2020.

CIBC CEO Victor Dodig received direct compensation of $11.7 million, up from $9 million the previous year and exceeding his target. On top of his $1 million salary, Dodig received $2.1 million in cash, $6.8 million in performance share units and $1.7 million in options.

CIBC reported net income of $6.4 billion last year, up from $3.8 billion in 2020.

Scotiabank CEO Brian Porter was paid $11.4 million, with $2.5 million in cash and $7.5 million deferred compensation in addition to his $1.3-million salary. His total direct compensation was below his target of $11.8 million but higher than last year’s total of $9.9 million.

Scotiabank reported a $10-billion profit in 2021 compared to $6.9 billion the previous year.

National Bank CEO Louis Vachon, who retired on Oct. 31 and was replaced by Laurent Ferreira, received $9.7 million in direct compensation last year, up from $7.4 million in 2020.

National Bank reported net income of $3.2 billion last year compared to $2.1 billion in 2020.