Ulster Bank fatcat pay bonanza as rivals suffer €500k cap
top boss earns up to €1m last year
AN Ulster Bank top boss earned around €1million last year, it emerged yesterday.
This is up to twice as much as other executives at rival lenders bailed out by the taxpayer which are subject to a €500,000 pay cap.
It is understood the salaries were made to Ulster Bank’s chief executive Jane Howard and her deputy and chief financial officer Paul Stanley.
The huge salaries emerged in disclosures made by the lender under European Banking Authority rules which dictate that financial institutions must report how many employees are paid over €1million.
Ulster Bank, which is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group, was not bailed out by the Irish taxpayer.
But the massive salaries will anger ordinary taxpayers as Ulster Bank can write off much of its corporate tax bill on its profits against losses made during the financial crisis.
The bank caused outrage last October when it emerged it was selling off a portfolio of around 3,175 non-performing mortgages on family homes and buy-to-let properties worth about €800million – to US vulture fund Carval Investors.
Separately, in what could be bad news for Permanent TSB customers the bank refused to commit to reducing its mortgage interest rates further.
Outgoing chief executive Jeremy Masding made the announcement as the bank reported pre-tax profits of €42million – up 8% on the previous year.
Many brokers and financial analysts believe PTSB’S interest rates are out of step with the market in the wake of big reductions by other lenders.
Mr Masding added: “There were three rate cuts in the last 12 months.
“We’ve got nothing new to announce today.
“But if we can make our offering more competitive, we will do so.”
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