Do the numbers. Hzn's compensation scheme is an outrage. [IMG]...

Do the numbers. Hzn's compensation scheme is an outrage.


CBA chief executive Ian Narev reporting half-year results in Sydney. Source:News Limited

• Stephen McMahon
• News Corp Australia Network
• 
  
• COMMONWEALTH bank chief Ian Narev earned a whopping $7.8 million this year after lifting profits and returns to shareholders.

Despite earning $150,000 a week - double the average annual wage - Mr Narev remains the lowest paid of the Big Four bank bosses.

The CBA annual report, released yesterday, showed the bank's 12 most senior executives earned an average of $4.8 million last year.

Investor groups and corporate regulators have long been calling for greater clarity around executive pay.

Ownership Matters founder Dean Paatsch said that while the sums are so large that it is sometimes "hard to justify", CBA must be credited for linking bosses pay more closely with shareholder experiences.

This year, CBA rose to top the customer satisfaction rating of the big four and its share price jumped more than 30 per cent in the past 12 months.

And last week Mr Narev smashed market expectations with a 10 per cent lift in annual cash profit to $7.8 billion.

Another major winner at the nation's biggest bank was Aussie John Symond, the man who built a business as the battlers' friend against the big banks.

Mr Symond's company, Dawnraptor, controls almost $196 million of Commonwealth Bank shares after selling the majority stake in Aussie Home Loans late last year.

And the bank's 13th biggest shareholder will pocket almost $5.5 million just in dividends in October.

The annual report showed Mr Narev's salary jumped 36 per cent from $5.7 million in 2012 to $7.8 million however this included only seven months as chief executive after replacing former boss Ralph Norris.

The 2011-12 remuneration also reflected his five months as group executive business and private banking.

He took home just over $4 million, including short term incentives in 2012-13.

This was up from $2.8 million last year with the remainder of his pay packet in deferred allocations of shares.

The long-term incentive payments, which are deferred for four years and subject to further performance hurdles, totalled almost $2 million with the remainder made up of pension payments.

The Commonwealth Bank pulled further ahead of its rivals yesterday as the latest business customer satisfaction reached the highest level ever achieved by the bank.

ANZ'S top banker Mike Smith earned the biggest pay packet among the big four bank bosses at $10.1 million last year.

Westpac boss Gail Kelly pocketed $9.6 million in the 12 months to September 30, of which $5.3 million was paid in cash.

National Australia Bank chief executive Cameron Clyne got $8.8 million

CBA will also lift a pay freeze on senior executives in 2014 after last week posting the nation's biggest ever banking profit of $7.8 billion last year.

[email protected]