13 bankers in Portugal earn over €1 million

When it comes to fat cat salaries in the banking sector, you would think that the bank with the highest profits would pay its CEO the highest salary to reflect that performance.

But State-owned Caixa Geral de Depósitos, which in 2025 enjoyed €1.9Bn in profits – a record that beat the €1.7Bn posted in 2024 – paid its CEO, Paulo Macedo the lowest salary out of the big five banks in Portugal which enjoyed the best results ever.

Moreover, according to data from the European Banking Authority, in 2024 there were at least 13 bankers in Portugal who earned more than the head of the state bank received in 2025. And only one of these people is a woman.

Last year, the state-owned bank achieved a profit of €1.9Bn, a record high surpassing the €1.7Bn 2024. Both were the highest in the system. However, Macedo’s remuneration does not reflect the comparative results with other banks: among the CEOs of the five largest financial institutions, he has the lowest remuneration.

In 2025, Paulo Macedo received a total of €966,000, including a fixed salary of €433,000, variable pay (€423,000), and other benefits of €110,000. Last year, Macedo was, in fact, the only CEO to receive less than one million euros.

At the other extreme is Mark Bourke, the CEO of Novo Banco, who earned approximately €2.4Bn in fixed and variable compensation. The manager of the bank, which will soon be owned by the French BPCE, received the most among CEOs in the Portuguese financial sector.

Miguel Maya of BCP (€1.7 million); Pedro Castro e Almeida of Santander (€1.3 million); and João Pedro Oliveira e Costa of BPI (€1.14 million) complete the list of the top 5.

Source: Negócios; Credits: RODRIGO ANTUNES/LUSA
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