Hurley paid 57% more than Greenspan

THE Governor of Ireland’s Central Bank is paid at least 57% more than his US counterpart, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.

The single most influential central banker in the world, Mr Greenspan makes the equivalent of €146,835 a year. This is €84,140 less than civil servant John Hurley who earns €230,975 as Governor of the Irish Central Bank, according to its most recently published annual report in 2001.

However, neither men are at the upper end of the scale when it comes to paying Central Bankers, with European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg the top earner among the elite group on an annual salary of €424,000.

The Bank of England will pay Mervyn King €367,657 a year when he succeeds Edward George as governor in July, making him the second-most highly paid among the world's top four central bankers in Britain, Europe, the US and Japan.

Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui makes €272,760, according to the banks' website, just €12,000 more than Mr Hurley.

Central bankers earn far less than the heads of commercial banks. AIB boss Michael Buckley's pay package in 2002 came to €940,000 and even AIB's part-time chairman Lochlann Quinn, with annual fees of €216,000, earns almost as much as the Governor of the Central Bank.

In Britain, Fred Goodwin, chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, earned €3.6 million last year which is almost 10 times more than the Governor of the Bank of England.

However, the Governor of the Irish Central Bank fares well among his peers.

Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge's earns up to €201,341.

Swiss National Bank President Jean-Pierre Roth had a salary of €389,953 last year, up 4.4% from 2001.