You're Richer Than You Think

By Tom Bradley

Last year we blogged about bank CEO’s compensation (Can I Join the Club?). We took issue with the fact that they all made about the same last year, despite the fact that the performance and positioning of their respective banks were quite different. We finished the post with the sports analogy: “Should Ed Clark [TD Bank], a 50-goal scorer, be paid the same as a good two-way winger on a deep team, a dependable defenseman, a second-line center and a penalty-killing specialist?”

I’m pleased to report that this year there was some improvement. The compensation committees moved the numbers around a little. Here is the final "Total Compensation" standings:

Firm Total Compensation Gord Nixon RBC $13,731,877 Rick Waugh BNS $11,101,196 Ed Clark TD $10,972,599 Gerry McCaughey CIBC $9,931,000 Bill Downe BMO $9,600,553

In case any bank directors are interested, I’m still in pretty good shape and come to play every day. I’m also a tenacious back checker and a bit of a character guy in the locker room. My agent says I’ll take $30 million over three years ... with a no-trade clause of course.