Faster increase in banking and insurance salaries last year

The annual salary of bankers went up by 24% last year (in euros), and by 20% for employees working in insurance. Both increases top those registered in 2006 (by 13% and 15% respectively), although experts had expected salaries to slow down on the financial market. The salary increases in the banking and insurance sectors may have accelerated above the 2006 rates, however their growth rate was lower than the average salary in the overall economy. In comparison, salaries in the banking and insurance sectors increased by 24% and 20% respectively, but by 28% in the overall economy (in euros), according to a ZF analysis, based on data from the National Statistics Institute (INS). In 2006, the increases stood at 13% for banks, 15% in the insurance sector, and 20% in the overall economy. Market representatives say the salary increases were a natural consequence of the rises seen by the banking and insurance sectors, being additionally stimulated by the territorial network expansion and by the low number of specialists available on the market.