RBC’s capital markets head scores major payday

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It looks like the man who runs Royal Bank of Canada's capital markets arm will clock in as the highest paid Canadian banking executive in 2014, making more than his company's own chief executive officer.

Big Six banks have released their proxy circulars over the past few weeks, and these documents disclose how much their senior executives made in fiscal 2014.

Most media coverage focuses on what the CEOs haul in, but this year there's an interesting development in RBC's compensation structure. It turns out Doug McGregor, who runs the capital markets arm, made the most money.

Mr. McGregor's total compensation amounted to $13.25-million last year, beating Dave McKay, who runs the entire bank. Mr. McKay made $12.8-million, after you factor in a special one-time pension top up that was granted when he took over as CEO last year.

However, keep in mind that Mr. McKay was only installed as chief executive on August 1, so he didn't have a full year of the CEO compensation.

Mr. McGregor's payday is certainly large. Rival capital markets heads at other Big Six banks made $8-million at most, according to their proxy circulars. (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is the only institution that hasn't released its proxy circular yet.)

Mr. McGregor's compensation was so high because RBC's capital markets group made a record profit of $2.06-billion last year, and the investor and treasury services group, which he also oversees, also made a record profit of $441-million. He also benefited from a one-time bonus worth $2-million in deferred share units, which was granted to him when Mr. McKay was first named chief executive in December 2013.

Despite the large payday, Mr. McGregor's 2014 compensation isn't the highest ever hauled in by an RBC executive. In 2013, for instance, former CEO Gord Nixon made $14.0-million.