The bonuses collected by bankers in 2009, which correspond to the record-high profits, boosted salaries in the sector, with managers in other economic sectors being left behind.
Five bankers and a top manager in life insurance collected
salaries, incentives, and bonuses totalling the equivalent of over
one million euros each.
According to data supplied to ZF by the National Fiscal
Administration Agency, the highest net salary amounted to 6.76
million RON, i.e. over 1.6 million euros, and was that of a top
banker, an all-time high for salaries reported to the Romanian
fiscal authorities.
Unlike in previous years, bankers became the unchallenged leaders
of the top-10 salary ranking, holding no less than seven positions,
as opposed to two in 2008 and four in 2007.
This spectacular rise was driven by the record-high bonuses that
bankers awarded themselves for the record profits recorded in this
sector in 2008, with payments being made the following year.
Whilst in 2008 the ranking was led by the manager of a cable
(telecom) company, in 2009 he fell to the ninth position after his
annual pay fell by a third. Other executives who left the top ten
are those in the petroleum sector, in energy trading, as well as in
consulting – a sector strongly affected by the economic crisis. A
seller of advertising space made his way into the top 10, at number
8. Climbing to the third position was a life insurance executive,
with around 5.26 million euros.