Staff in banks got €44m bonus after guarantee scheme

BONUSES WORTH €44.7 million were paid to staff at financial institutions in the years 2008-2010, with €20 million received by Anglo employees in the last few months of 2008.

The information was revealed in Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan’s response to a parliamentary question tabled by Labour Party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton.

Ms Burton asked Mr Lenihan to outline bonuses paid by credit institutions covered by the Government’s bank guarantee after September 2008, when the scheme was introduced. She also requested details of the number of staff who received bonuses in the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 and the amounts paid in each of those years.

Responding on Thursday, Mr Lenihan said information had been received from Anglo Irish Bank, Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS), Irish Life and Permanent (IL&P) and Education Building Society (EBS) but he was still waiting for a reply from the Bank of Ireland.

At Anglo, €20,771,353 was shared between 1,594 employees after September 2008. In 2009, €396,603 was distributed between 10 members of staff with five sharing €273,787 this year. Mr Lenihan said Anglo had ceased to award bonuses since 2009, so payments referred to were awarded prior to that year.

At AIB, 681 staff members shared €1.3 million after September 2008, with €19.3 million paid to 1,387 in 2009 and no bonuses recorded in 2010.

Mr Lenihan said of the €19.3 million paid in 2009, €18.3 million went to overseas staff with the remainder going to 750 workers.

At INBS, €1,448,000 was divided between 318 staff members in 2008, while €12,300 was shared between two workers in 2009 and one award of €9,000 was paid this year.

Mr Lenihan said the former chief executive of INBS received a bonus of €1 million in November 2008. “As set out in the INBS 2008 annual report and accounts, this comprised part of his overall remuneration of €2.313 million in 2008 which also included €450,000 described as ‘other payments’,” the Minister said.

At IL&P, 13 workers shared €11,834 in 2008, with €745,680 divided between 509 in 2009 and 103 sharing €46,891 in 2010. Mr Lenihan said some staff may have received more than one payment in the year.

At EBS, no bonuses were recorded in 2008, while in 2009 35 shared €145,600 and this year €326,006 was distributed between 69. Mr Lenihan said 26 employees in an EBS broker business subsidiary received lump sum retention payments averaging €8,500 per employee this year. In January 2009, 35 employees in the direct call centre got bonuses averaging €4,160 per employee. This January, 43 staff members received an average bonus of €2,442.