The chief executive of Toronto-based Bank of Nova Scotia saw his total compensation for last year fall compared with 2018.
Scotiabank’s management proxy circular, filed ahead of its annual meeting, states that Brian Porter earned $12.6 million in total compensation last year, down from nearly $13.3 million in 2018.
Porter’s pay for 2019 included $1.3 million in salary, nearly $5.6 million in share awards, nearly $1.4 million in option awards, a cash bonus of $2.3 million, $2 million in pension value and $3,500 in other compensation.
That compared with a 2018 pay packet that included $1.2 million in salary, $6 million in share awards, $1.5 million in option awards, a cash bonus of $2.5 million, $2 million in pension value and $3,000 in other compensation.
Porter’s direct and variable compensation both came in below his 2019 target, which Scotiabank’s board said “reflects the bank’s lower 2019 business performance factor.”
Nonetheless, Scotiabank earned nearly $8.8 billion in its 2019 financial year, up from $8.7 billion in its 2018 financial year.
Porter isn’t the only chief executive of a big Canadian bank to see his total compensation for 2019 decline. TD Bank chief executive Bharat Masrani saw his total compensation drop nearly 18% compared with 2018.
Scotiabank’s other executive officers made the following in 2019:
- Rajagopal Viswanathan, group head, chief financial officer, earned total compensation of $3.3 million, up from $1.7 million in 2018.
- Ignacio Deschamps, group head, international banking and digital transformation, earned total compensation of $6 million, up from $5.9 million in 2018.
- Adrián Otero Rosiles, executive vice president and country head, Scotiabank México, earned total compensation of $5 million.
- Dan Rees, group head, Canadian banking, earned total compensation of $3.9 million, up from $3 million in 2018.
- James P. O’Sullivan, strategic advisor to the CEO, earned total compensation of $7.2 million, up from $4.7 million in 2018, when he was group head, Canadian operations.
Gender diversity
According to the proxy circular, five of the bank’s 13 nominated directors (38%) are women. Scotiabank says it has a goal of having women represent 37% of its global vice presidents and 45% of its Canadian vice presidents by the year 2021.
Shareholder proposals
Scotiabank is facing four shareholder proposals this year, each of which the bank advised voting against.
- A request that the bank disclose the equity ratio used by the compensation committee to determine compensation.
- A request that the bank inform shareholders of the investments it makes in information technology over the next five years.
- A request that the bank set a diversity target of more than 40% for the composition of its board of directors for the next five years.
- A request that the bank revise its human rights policies to consider the impact on human rights and Indigenous people’s rights in project finance and commercial lending decisions.
Scotiabank will hold its annual shareholder meeting April 7, 2020.