National Bank’s top executives received $36.3 million in total compensation in 2021, $11 million or 43% more than the amount of salaries and the value of bonuses awarded to them a year earlier.
Posted at 11:17 a.m.
Outgoing President and CEO Louis Vachon alone saw his total compensation value rise to $10.6 million, up $2.3 million or 28% from his last year in office.
Most of this increase in total compensation value stems from a 74% increase in his “annual incentive bonuses” to 2.14 million, paid in cash.
Also, the value of bonuses in bank capital securities awarded to Mr. Vachon (Editor’s note: shares, share units, stock options) amounted to 6.4 million in 2021, up 27% over one year.
Moreover, we learn in the management circular distributed these days to the shareholders of the National that Louis Vachon left his post with a personal asset valued at 143.6 million in various capital securities of the bank.
These titles were awarded to him over his 20 years in the senior management of the bank, including 15 as President and Chief Executive Officer.
The valuation of this asset of Mr. Vachon is composed as follows: 30.6 million in shares, 16.6 million in share units, and 96.4 million in value attributed to stock options.
In addition, as of his 65th birthday, in six years, Louis Vachon will be eligible for a life annuity of 1.5 million per year from the special retirement plan for senior executives of the National Bank.
8 million to the new president
Among other senior executives at the largest bank headquartered in Montreal, the highest compensation — at more than $8 million each — went to Laurent Ferreira, former chief operating officer and new president and chief management, as well as to Denis Girouard, Senior Vice-President, Financial Markets.
For the financial year ended in October 2021, when he had already been appointed president replacing Louis Vachon, Laurent Ferreira saw the value of his total compensation jump by 51% or 3 million to settle at 8, 9 million.
Most of this gain comes from doubling the value of its stock allocation bonus, from 2.7 million in 2020 to 5.4 million in 2021.
Similar situation with Denis Girouard: the value of his stock allocation bonus reached 3.9 million in 2021, or 1.2 million more than the previous year.
As for the biggest increase in compensation among the bank’s most senior executives, the prize for the 2021 financial year goes to Martin Gagnon, the co-president of Financière Banque Nationale (Editor’s note: main subsidiary of the financial markets) and first vice-president to the Wealth Management Department.
The value of his total compensation in 2021 has been increased by 90% to reach $5.4 million, including almost $4 million in bonuses (stocks, options, cash) and $915,000 in a special contribution to his executive retirement plan.
This information on the compensation of National Bank’s top executives is taken from the management circular sent to shareholders in preparation for the annual meeting on Friday, April 22.
Moreover, a sign of a certain return to normal after two years of the pandemic, the National Bank shareholders’ meeting will be held in hybrid mode, that is to say in person at its head office in Montreal and interactive broadcast via the Internet.