Disclosure of board remuneration in large European banks

Abstract

In our paper, we analyze the remuneration of board members of large European banks as presented in the annual reports. We find that remuneration differs greatly between European countries both with respect to its total amount and components. Furthermore, the degree of disclosure about remuneration ranges from very detailed reports in some countries to perfect obscurity in others. We construct a disclosure index to characterize the transparency of board remuneration in the different countries. Under agency perspectives, our results encourage the introduction of stricter disclosure rules for executive compensation on a European level.