The number of bankers and traders in the European Union earning over one million euros reached a record level in 2021 as securities firms generated massive revenues and investment banks relocated employees to the region following Brexit.
The number of such ‘high earners’ rose to as many as 1,957, which is 42 percent higher compared to the previous year, announced the European Banking Authority (EBA) on Thursday in Paris. This is, in fact, the highest level for EU member states and associated countries since the EBA began collecting data in 2010, Bloomberg reported.
It is also important to note that the figures mentioned do not include the United Kingdom, which remains the main financial center following its exit from the EU in 2020.
The highest-paid banker in the EU was in Spain, earning between 14 and 15 million euros, according to the EBA.
Global banks competed in 2021 to hire bankers amid a pandemic-driven surge in trading activity and increased demand for advice on mergers and acquisitions, as well as issuing stocks and bonds. This competition abruptly ceased the following year when the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected corporate executives’ willingness to make deals, meaning that bankers in many firms now face the prospect of lower bonuses for their performance in 2022.
The increase in 2021 also reflects higher salaries, the EBA reported. Bonuses rose to the equivalent of 100.6 percent of fixed salary from 86.4 percent a year earlier, according to the weighted average for all high earners calculated by the EBA.
It is worth noting that bonuses for bankers are capped at the equivalent of their annual salary in the EU, although lenders can seek shareholder approval to increase this to double the base salary.
