B of I paid Boucher €831,000 last year

BANK OF Ireland paid chief executive Richie Boucher €831,000, including a salary of €623,000, in 2011, according to the bank’s annual report published yesterday.

The salary exceeds the Government’s €500,000 salary cap for bankers set under the terms of the original bank guarantee.

The Department of Finance said it approved a salary of €623,000 for Mr Boucher in 2009 and it had not changed since then.

The department said it “should be borne in mind that the State is a minority [15 per cent] shareholder in Bank of Ireland”.

The lender is the only Irish bank to avoid State control following the sale of a 35 per cent stake to private investors last year.

Mr Boucher’s total €831,000 pay package includes €174,000 in pension contributions and €34,000 in other remuneration, which includes a car allowance.

He waived 10 per cent, or €67,000, of his salary in 2011 and this waiver is extended into 2012.

Finance director John O’Donovan, who retired at the end of last year, was paid €680,000, including a salary of €550,000 for his final year at the bank. He waived €55,000 of his pay in 2011.

The department approved a salary of €500,000 for David Duffy, AIB’s new chief executive, when he was appointed in November. AIB is 99.8 per cent State owned.