The chief executive of the Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce saw his total compensation last year decline compared with 2018.

In a regulatory filing ahead of the bank’s annual meeting, CIBC says Victor Dodig’s total compensation for 2019 was $9 million, down from $10 million in 2018.

The bank says Dodig earned a salary of $1 million, $4.8 million in share-based awards, $1.2 million in option-based awards, a cash bonus of $1.5 million, $505,000 in pension value and $2,250 in all other compensation last year.

The package compared with a salary of $1 million, $5.1 million in share-based awards, nearly $1.3 million in option-based awards, a cash bonus of $2.1 million, $520,000 in pension value and $2,250 in all other compensation in 2018.

Top executives at other big banks also saw their compensation decline last year, including Scotia Bank’s Brian Porter, TD’s Bharat Masrani and RBC’s David McKay.

CIBC’s management proxy circular said Dodig led CIBC in achieving solid financial results in a challenging operating environment.

CIBC earned $5.12 billion or $11.19 per diluted share for its financial year ended Oct. 31, 2019, compared with a profit of $5.28 billion or $11.65 per diluted share in the same period a year earlier.

CIBC’s other executive officers made the following in 2019:

  • Kevin Glass, CFO, made $2.9 million, down from $3.2 million in 2018.
  • Harry Culham, group head of capital markets, made $7.3 million, down from $8.2 million in 2018.
  • Michael Capatides, group head of the U.S. region and president and CEO, CIBC Bank USA, made $6.1 million, up from $5.7 million in 2018.
  • Laura Dottori-Attanasio, chief revenue officer, made $3.5 million, down from $3.8 million in 2018.

Gender diversity

Of CIBC’s 2020 board nominees, six out of 15, or 40%, are women. The circular notes that 27% of executive committee members and 32% of global boarded executives are women.

Shareholder proposals

CIBC is facing three shareholder proposals this year, each of which it advises voting against:

  • A request that the bank disclose the equity ratio used by the compensation committee to determine compensation.
  • A request that the bank set a diversity target of more than 40% of women for the composition of its board of directors for the next five years.
  • A request that the bank inform shareholders of the investments it makes in information technology to protect personal information over the next five years.

There was also a proposal that was not submitted for a vote asking the bank to inform shareholders of the board’s efforts to address the significantly large abstention votes obtained by one of the directors.

CIBC will hold its annual shareholder meeting April 8, 2020.