The European Banking Authority (EBA) assessed this Thursday 221 bank employees who earn more than a million euros. The figures correspond to the 2021 financial year, but show a strong year-on-year increase of 73%. That year there were 128 “high-earning” employees, according to a report published by the European banking watchdog. The increase is significantly higher than the growth of the entire Eurozone, which was 41.5%.
The EBA counts 1,957 bankers who have exceeded one million euros in 2021. This is the highest since the report began in 2010. The banking body highlights several factors as reasons for this acceleration in the number of high-income bankers. The first of these is the “good conduct of entities”, particularly in the field of investment banking and asset management. Another factor is the migration of bankers who left the UK after Brexit.
In fact, Spain appears to be one of the main recipients of these highly paid professionals. 70% of the growth of bankers with income above one million euros is in Italy, France and Spain. According to the data reported by the EBA, the former have monopolized 29% of these new millionaire bankers, the French 25% and the Spanish 16%.
In Spain, the 221 professionals who earned more than one million euros had an average salary of 2.16 million euros. The largest group of them (92) was devoted to investment banking. Out of the total, 148 had a salary between one and two million euros. 37, mostly in the aforementioned investment bank, earned between 2 and 3 million euros. 18 had an income of 3 to 4 million; 3 remained from 4 to 5 million; 8 earned between 5 and 6 million; 2 earned between 6 and 7 million; 2 from 7 to 8 million, 1 from 10 to 11 million; the second between 13 and 14 million and the last to receive more than 14 million.
The statistics point to Germany as the country with more than a million euro bankers, 589 and an average salary of 1.79 million. The second position continues to France with 371 and 1.88 million average salary. Italy closed 2021 very close to France, with 351 workers over one million euros and an average salary of 1.69 million. Of these countries, Spain is the country with the highest average wage among countries that have crossed the threshold to be considered “high income” by the EBA.
Source: El Diario
