Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered Plc (STAN.L) paid its 13 top executives and bankers $92 million for last year, including $13.4 million for the head of its investment bank Mike Rees.
The pay of Rees was made up of salary, bonus, benefits and long-term share awards for 2011, and compared with $14.1 million in 2010 when he was also the top-paid executive.
Chief Executive Peter Sands received $8 million, up 3 percent. The bank's five executive directors received $37.8 million in total, also up 3 percent and including long-term performance share awards that vest in three years and could be higher than estimated, or zero.
The bank's annual report, released on Friday, also showed an unnamed banker below board level was paid $10.2 million for 2011, including variable pay of $9.5 million.
The top eight bankers below board level each earned at least $5 million, and took home $54 million in aggregate. All are based outside Britain.
StanChart makes more than three-quarters of its earnings in Asia and made a pretax profit of $6.8 billion last year, up 11 percent on the year before and a ninth successive annual record, driven largely by growth in the wholesale unit, which includes investment banking and trade financeoperations.
Rees has earned $40 million in the past three years, making him one of the world's top paid bankers at a time of fierce criticism of the level of pay in an industry many blame for the financial crisis.
Standard Chartered did not take any direct government help during the crisis, however, and has remained profitable. It has threatened to move its headquarters away from London if regulations get too onerous and put it at a disadvantage to Asian rivals.
UK rival Barclays Plc (BARC.L) faced a backlash earlier this month after saying its boss Bob Diamond took home pay, shares and benefits worth $27 million last year.
Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) on Friday said its CEO Brady Dougan was paid $6.3 million last year, less than half a year before as the bank's profit shrank 62 percent, its returns fell well short of target and its stock dropped 41 percent.
Standard Chartered's shares fell 18 percent last year, compared with a 32 percent fall by the Europe bank index .SX7P.
Rees's 2011 award included base pay of $1.1 million, a cash bonus of $2 million, upfront shares of $2 million, deferred shares worth $6 million and a potential $2.2 million in shares depending on performance in the next three years.
