Directors of Anglo paid more than €9m

THE directors of Anglo Irish Bank saw their combined pay rise by 10% to more than €9 million in the past year.

The bank’s annual report for the year to the end of September shows all of the executive directors received large pay increases.

Seán FitzPatrick, who retires as chief executive and takes up the chairman’s job in January, was paid a total of €2.7 million, up from €2.3 million the previous year.

His package consists of a basic salary of €775,000 and a bonus of €1.6m. The rest of his package came from pension contributions and benefits. He is the highest paid boss of a listed company in Ireland.

The report also reveals that Mr FitzPatrick owns 1.8m Anglo shares worth about €33 million.

Mr FitzPatrick joined the bank in 1980 and became chief executive in 1986. His successor, 38-year-old David Drumm was a surprise appointment. The favourite to land the top job was Tiarnan O’Mahoney, the bank’s chief operating officer.

Mr O’Mahoney saw his pay rise more modestly - €1.5m to €1.68m. This included a €1 million performance bonus. Mr O’Mahoney has since resigned from Anglo.

Tom Brown, the head of Anglo’s wealth management division, was paid a total of €913,000. This was made up of a basic salary of €218,000, bonuses of €726,000 and other payments of €69,000.

Finance director Willie McAteer earned €1.4 million, up from €1.2 million the previous year. The head of Anglo’s British business, John Rowan, took home €1.52 million, with his basic salary falling by €15,000. Group risk manager Peter Killen, who retired in February was paid €187,000. Of the non-executive directors, outgoing chairman Peter Murray was paid €217,000 in fees for the part-time role, a €12,000 increase on last year. Fintan Drury, the sports agent and chairman of Paddy Power bookmakers got €63,000. Smurfit boss Gary McGann, who joined the board in January was paid 43,000 in fees, Paddy Wright got €63,000 and Greencore chairman Ned Sullivan was paid €74,000. Mr Drumm’s full salary was not disclosed in the report as he did not join the board until late September.

The bank saw its profits rise by 45% in the 12 months to the end of September to €504 million, a record for the bank. And shareholders saw the annual dividend rise 20% to 22.5 cent a share.

The bank’s share price also hit record highs during year and has gained nearly 50% since last January.