Ex-CBA Head Received $9.61 Million

The former chief executive officer of Commonwealth Bank is sitting pretty, pocketing an average of $63,000 a day for the last five months he spent at CBA.

Ralph Norris received $9.61 million when he left the bank in November 2011. According to data, the daily average of Norris is equivalent of an average annual income of many Aussies.

The revelations came after big banks put a freeze on their executives’ paycheck. The move was an effort to bring down operational costs and offset subdued lending. Other Aussie companies also implemented a similar move like Rio Tinto and BHP.

Data also showed that Norris’ remuneration is composed of short-term bonuses and long-term share-based awards. The latter is scheduled to vest in the next couple of years.

Norris has been credited for reshaping the culture of Commonwealth Bank from being a government-owned bank to having a reputation of being customer-focused. He also spearheaded major IT investments that allowed the bank to surpass its rivals.

Norris’ daily average of $63,000 makes him of the highest paid executives in the country. He is followed closely by Coles head Ian McLeod, who earns about $42,740 a day. Rio Tinto’s Tom Albanese is third at $35,200 per day.

Other highly paid executives include Gail Kelly of Westpac and Mike Smith of ANZ. Both are earning $26,000 a day.

Since Norris left Commonwealth Bank, he has stayed away from the industry. He is now based in New Zealand, where he serves on Fonterra’s board. He is also a non-executive director in Origin Energy.