Saturday 4 February 2012

Top bank executives' salaries capped at €600,000

Rodrigo Rato,
former head of IMF
(€2.34 million)
Measures aimed at 'cleaning up' Spain's financial system
SPAIN (Agencies) The Government confirmed yesterday at the weekly post-Cabinet press conference that top executives at banks that have received public money from the Bank Restructuring Fund (Fondo de Reestructuración Bancaria Ordenada, or FROB), such as BFA-Bankia, Banca Cívica, BMN and Caja España, will not be able to be paid mo0re than €600,000 per year. The announcement was made by the Minister for the Economy, Luis de Guindos. Data from the Banco de España says that executives at BMN were the only ones to be paid below that figure last year. Thiose of Caja España refused to make publuic their remuneration, while the Chief Executive of BFA-Bankia, Rodrigo Rato, admitted he was paid €2.34 million, which puts him at the top of the list, followed by Francisco Verdú, who heads Bankia, with €2.26 millions. Antonio Pulido, of Banca Cívica, and his Vice-President, Enrique Goñi, recognized an annual salary  of €900,000, and Carlos Egea, of BMN, €450,000. The remaining four financial entities that are majority owned by the FROB - Banco de Valencia, Catalunya Caixa, Unnim and Novagalicia - had their top remuneration packages capped at €300,000. These restrictions come under the Royal Decree that is aimed at 'cleaning up' the financial system in the country, a decree that also requires considerably higher provision for bad debt, among other things, and that is likely to cause a new round of bank mergers.

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