Macquarie CEO's pay packet bulges

The annual pay packet of Macquarie Group Ltd's chief executive is back to boom
times, thanks in large part to the investment bank's 21 per cent jump in annual net
profit to just over $1 billion.
Boss Nicholas Moore was left with remuneration of $9.56 million, including a slight
increase in base salary to $518,800.
This was 33 times the total remuneration of just $290,756 in fiscal 2009 when
Macquarie's profit more than halved because of the fallout from the global financial
crisis, and deductions in long-term benefits involving share allocations skewed his
remuneration result.
Mr Moore's pay still pales in comparison to the $26.75 million he collected in 2008
and underlines the effect of short-term performance bonuses, which plunged by $16
million in fiscal 2009 and bounced by $4.6 million in fiscal 2010.
"A large amount of the pay that we've earned historically has been held back by the
firm whether it's invested in funds or Macquarie stock and that provides quite a
degree of volatility in terms of the underlying remuneration result," Mr Moore said.
Chief financial officer Greg Ward confirmed around half of Mr Moore's
performance-based bonus would be deferred.
Asked if he felt comfortable accepting this level of remuneration, Mr Moore
acknowledged that bank executive remuneration had been a very sensitive global issue
for a few years.
"We're very attuned to the issue," he said.
Australian banks are "in a slightly different world" on this issue given that local
banks did not suffer the same heavy crisis-induced losses as their offshore
counterparts, he said.
Macquarie's biggest expense is its controversial employee compensation levels which
has earned it the "millionaires' factory" moniker.
The bank has never disclosed its compensation formula but says its remuneration
structure has not changed in 40 years.
The bank grew its headcount from 12,700 to 14,600 in the six months to March 31, and
now half of all employees work offshore.
Employees were paid a total $3.1 billion, taking the compensation ratio to 43 per cent.
Banks are hiring and competition for talent is increasing, Mr Moore said, adding
there was a "remarkable correlation" between the rising equity and employment
markets.



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