In its annual report, which was published on Tuesday 10 April, the European Banking Authority (EBA) announced a decrease in the number of employees of EU banks deemed high earners, or receiving remuneration of more than €1 million.
The report, which studied the remuneration practices of European banks in 2015 and 2016, shows that the number of high earners fell from 5,142 in 2015 to 4,597 in 2016, or a drop of 10.6%, largely due to changes in the exchange rate between the euro and the pound sterling, it explains.
At the same time, the average ratio between the variable and fixed share of the remuneration paid to senior bankers receiving more than €1 million continued to fall in 2016 to stand at 104%, compared to 118% in 2015 and 127% in 2014.
The United Kingdom is by far top of the list of member states with the most high earners (3,529), ahead of Germany (253), France (205), Italy (172) and Spain (152).
The EBA report also stresses considerable disparities in the application of the rules on remuneration between EU countries and concludes that remuneration practices within banks are still not sufficiently harmonised.
The EBA will continue to compare trends in remuneration every two years. For the years 2017 and 2018, its report is expected to be available in early 2019. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)