Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 March 2013
199. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to the publication of the Mercer Report on pay and perks, the investigation, if any, he has carried out into the reported practice in Spain where executives of Bankia were ordered to pay back annual incentives paid before the bailout. [14907/13]
View answerI had noted the actions taken in Spain for the demand of the return of certain incentive payments already made from a cadre of executives of the Spanish bank, Bankia, as part of its recapitalisation late last year. The situation while analogous in some respects to our banking recapitalisations would not appear to be similar in all respects to the domestic circumstances underpinning our recapitalisations. Also the different legal systems in the two countries would also be a factor for consideration.
I am also conscious of on-going legal cases in this sensitive area and would be reluctant to make further comment on that basis.
I would point out that the Review of Remuneration Practices and Frameworks at the Covered Institutions stated that bonus payments are no longer payable at the banks.
