The number of high earners in the European banking sector increased by 19.7 percent in 2022. A total of 2,342 bankers had an annual income of more than 1 million euros. This is evident from the mandatory annual inventory by the European Banking Authority (EBA). It is the first time that more than two thousand banking high earners are counted. For comparison: in 2012 there were 816.
In Belgium, the number of high earners is relatively low. There were 26, of which 17 at banks and 9 at investment institutions. One Belgian investment banker earned 4,209,074 euros, the figures show. For comparison: in the Netherlands there were 189 high earners, in Denmark 52, and in Austria 49. Germany takes the cake with 653 high earners. The highest-paid German banker earned 11,027,691 euros. In France, one employee of an investment institution earned 30,708,152 euros. The British banking sector is not included in the figures.
The big earners are not just top executives and managers. This also concerns, for example, investment bankers, fund managers or those responsible for a specific division. At investment institutions, the high earners are often people who are paid based on the returns achieved.
Variable compensation
The banks and investment institutions are obliged to report the high earners. The measure came after the financial crisis in 2008, when it emerged that bankers had taken irresponsible risks. This was then linked to the payment policy, which was strongly focused on bonuses and variable remuneration.
Payment is still highly variable. For every 100 euros paid as fixed wages, the high earners received 85 euros in variable compensation. At the investment institutions this was even 489 euros variable per 100 euros fixed. The legal ceiling on variable compensation no longer applies to these institutions. For traditional banking institutions, the ceiling on variable compensation is set at 100 percent of the fixed salary.
At 8 percent, women are significantly underrepresented among high earners in the European banking sector. In Belgium, 2 out of 26 are women, which also amounts to 8 percent. “This illustrates the persistent gender imbalance in the financial sector, especially in the highest paid positions,” the EBA said.
