What banks pay to retain, attract good hands 28/11/2007



Banks are offering their employees mouth-watering salaries to strengthen their staff pool, reports SIMEON EBULU.
TWO years after their figure was trimmed from 89 to 25, banks are striving to keep their competent hands and attract good hands.

They have every cause to do so.

Not only do they have fatter purses in terms of profits, their vaults are brimming with billions of shareholders funds.

Their shareholders are also not complaining because they earn more dividends and even get bonus shares.

In their bids to improve on their performance and play in the global market, the banks need competent hands which they attract with juicy and irresistible packages.

For instance, eight of the banks now splash a princely N91.826 billion on their 36,038 employees yearly, a figure which translates to an average of N2.54 million per worker.

But not all the banks pay that much. Most of them pay between N1.0 million and N1.5 million yearly for lower cadre employees and a maximum of N5 million for management staff.

The figures are exclusive of allowances and other benefits paid to directors and top officials.

Zenith Bank Plc has just adjusted its salaries and wages upwards as further incentives to its employees.

Its 5,426 workforce earn more than N13.527 billion during the last financial year, with an additional N1.123 billion set aside for retirement benefits, representing the 2.5 per cent and 12.5 per cent statutory contributions by employees and the bank.

Nearly 4,000 of Zenith Bank Plc employees are bunched into three major salary levels with those earning between N1.5 million and N2.0 million constituting the highest number (1,825).

About 1,018 others earn between N2.0 million to N2.5 million.

Another 558 earn between N3.0 million and N3.5 million, while 551 others are paid between N3.5 million to N3.8 million.

Overall, Zenith Bank Plc, prior to the salary review, spent N14.651 billion on its employees’ emoluments and retirement benefits.

Union Bank Nigeria Plc spent N15.818 billion last year on its 7,844 employees categorized into junior, senior and managerial staff, with senior staff

Some 5,836 of the figure were senior employees while the junior ones 1,415. Those in the management category were 593.

Of the expenditure, N1.559 billion was spent on retirement benefits. Interestingly, more than 6,000 employees, representing 83.78 per cent of the workforce earned more than N150,000 monthly or N 1.8 million yearly.

At Oceanic Bank International Plc, the 2,270 employees earned N7.1 billion as salaries and wages, inclusive of retirement benefits last year.

While N6.875 billion was paid as salaries and wages, N225.429 million was set aside to defray retirement benefit costs.

Besides, N65.419 million was paid as directors’ remuneration, comprising N2.865 million (fees and sitting allowances) and N62.55 million (Executive compensation).

The employee flow chart of Oceanic Bank International Plc shows an eight-level salary structure.

Last year, no employee of the bank earned less than N800,000 yearly, unlike two years ago when 139 employees earned that much. The least paid employee of the bank earned between N800,000 – N1.200 million last year. There were 299 employees in that category. Most of the employees, numbering 1244 fall under two salary categories of between N1.2 million and (N1.6 million N1.6 million) to N2 million.

However, employees in the highest salary grade of N3.2 million and above rose by 26 to 98 employees from its previous 72 in 2005. The development was attributed to staff elevation.

For its 2,112 employees comprising management and non-management employees, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) spent N6.021 billion, covering salaries and wages (N5.698 billion) and retirement benefit (N322.8 million).

The bank’s employees are on eight salary grades, with the least paid going home with about N1.5 million yearly and its highest category put at N5.0 million and above. According to figures obtained by The Nation, 798 employees earn less than N1.5 million per annum while 101 others earn N5.0 million and above. There are 12 other employees who earn between N3.5 million and N4.0 million. The salaries of 1,201 others are staggered over five salary grade levels.

Until April, Diamond Bank spent N7.039 billion as salaries, wages and retirement benefits on its 2,435 employees.

About N6.773 billion of the amount was spent on salaries and wages while another N265.851 million was for retirement benefits. The expenses were exclusive of directors and other related staff expenses and showed a remarkable increase over the N4.812 billion for the same period in 2006. The jump was attributed to higher number of employees which rose from 1,759 in 2006 to the existing 2,435.

Diamond Bank salary structure is categorized into nine. Some 962 of the employees in the group earned between N1.3 million and N2.0 million yearly.

Thirty five of the employees each earned N9.0 million and above. The 962 employees in the first step of the income ladder for 2007 represent a 262 increase over the 700 on the bank’s payroll in 2006. The Nation learnt that the increase was the result of a massive recruitment undertaken by the bank to rejuvenate its operations.

On account of their large pools of employees, Intercontinental Bank coupled with First Bank Nigeria Plc spent betweenN19.447 billion and N19.908 billion as salaries and wages for their combined 14,486 workforce.

First Bank Nigeria Plc with 315 management staff, 6,371 senior staff and 907 junior workers, pays at least N60,000 monthly. About 101 of such employees earn between N60,000 and N70,000 monthly. Another 193 earn more than N1.0 million monthly.

Some 2,953 of the employees earn between N200,000 and N300,000. Overall, the bank’s payroll of N19.908 billion as at march 31 this was about N1.444 billion higher than last year’s figure.

First Bank now has an additional 194 employees hired in the past one year

Intercontinental Bank Plc, 6,895 employees, bloated by 2,910 auxiliary staff, more than doubled its staff costs in the year under review.

As against its current N19.447 billion expenditure on staff emolument, the bank spent N8.817 billion on such costs in the previous year.

The jump is attributed to the employment of fresh hands.

Access Bank Plc, with staff strength of 729 as of March, spent more than N1.8443 billion on wages and salaries as well as pension.

Of its 729 employees, 230 are in the N1.540 million – N1.550 million income brackets. One of its employees earns between N11.350 million and N11.360 million per annum. The pay of 10 others falls below the N10.800 million to N10.810million income bracket.

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