National Australia Bank Ltd chief executive Cameron Clyne has taken home a 76 per cent hike in total remuneration to $5.2 million compared with when he ran the bank’s New Zealand operations but is still paid only about two-thirds of his predecessor at the top job.

By contrast, Mr Clyne’s more experienced predecessor John Stewart pocketed $8.513 million in total remuneration last year.

Mr Clyne received a cash salary of $2.3 million, short-term incentive cash payments of $812,500, options valued at $1.17 million, shares worth $784,400 and non-monetary fixed compensation worth $18,580, according to the bank’s annual report issue on Monday,

Mr Clyne took over the top job at NAB from Mr Stewart on January 1 this year.
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ANZ Banking Group chief executive Mike Smith had a 16 per cent pay cut in fiscal 2009 to $10.9 million, but the bank says he actually received half that amount.

The bank’s annual report released on Monday shows Mr Smith’s total remuneration for the 12 months to September 30 was valued at $10.935 million, down from $12.963 million in the previous year.

The sum included a rise in short term incentives (STIs) to $4.5 million, up from a $2.4 million STI payment in the previous year.

“The CEO’s STI payment for the 2009 year has been determined having regard to both the company’s underlying profit for the current year as well as the significant progress achieved in relation to ANZ’s long-term strategic goals,” the report said.
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Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd (CBA) chief executive Ralph Norris pay package increased by six per cent last financial year even though the bank reported a slight decline in net profit and cut dividends.

However, Mr Norris, his executive team and the directors of the bank will have their salary and fees cut this financial year, in a move CBA announced in April, in light of the global financial crisis.

CBA on Wednesday said Mr Norris’s pay package rose by six per cent to $9.21 million in 2008/09 as his long-term share-based payments were increased.

Mr Norris’ fixed cash salary rose four per cent to $3.25 million, from $3.12 million in the previous financial year, the Sydney-based bank said in its annual report.
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Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned banks to do more to win back trust from the community, and has demanded that all bank chiefs slash their pay packets to buy faith with the public.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has backed Mr Swan, urging bank executives - and other bosses - to cut their pay before those of lower-paid workers, The Sun-Herald reports.

The Commonwealth Bank announced on Friday it will chop the package of its chief executive Ralph Norris by 10 per cent and its top 10 senior executives by five per cent, and introduce other measures to prevent widespread redundancies, including restricting wage rises to those earning less than $100,000 to just 1.5 per cent.
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Tom Elliott, 3AW announcer and Managing Director and co-founder of Melbourne based hedge fund MM&E Capital Limited has joined the growing throng of vocal opponents to Australia’s highly paid banking oligopoly.

In line with the Obama administration’s plan to impose a cap on executive pay for firms that take government aid money, Elliott is calling for a limit to be placed on the salaries of Australian bank executives. He argues that the multi-million dollar pay packets currently being handed out to the banking industry’s top echelon cannot be justified in these tough times.

Elliott, son of former Liberal Party president, John Elliott, maintains that bank funding and deposit government guarantees means risk is now being carried by taxpayers, which renders bank executives “public servants”.
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