Bank of Montreal CEO Bill DowneMATHIEU BELANGER
Bank of Montreal chief executive officer Bill Downe is the latest head of a major Canadian bank to book a sizable pay increase.
Regulatory filings show Mr. Downe made $9.54-million last year, including salary and bonuses of $3.89-million, and was granted equity of $5.65-million. That amounts to a 28-per-cent raise over his total pay package the previous year, according to the bank's management proxy circular.
In a year when profits at Canadian banks soared, including a 55-per-cent jump in yearly earnings at BMO to $2.8-billion, several top bank executives have seen their compensation jump.
Royal Bank of Canada chief executive officer Gordon Nixon had total compensation of $11-million last year, a 6-per-cent increase over 2009, according to the bank's proxy statement.
Meanwhile, Toronto-Dominion Bank CEO Ed Clark made $11.3-million, an increase of slightly more than 8 per cent, on the heels of a record year at Canada's second-largest bank.
The three banks are the first of the Big Six to reveal executive compensation. BMO said its head of capital markets, Tom Milroy, made $7-million last year in total direct compensation, down 7 per cent from 2009, while CEO of personal and commercial banking Frank Techar was paid $4-million, up 8 per cent.
BMO reports first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, followed by TD and RBC on Thursday.
Grant Robertson