EUROPEAN bank chiefs are being paid less than half as much as their US counterparts, after average remuneration in Europe fell 6pc between 2010 and 2014, but grew 15pc in the US.

Last year, chief executives of the top nine internationally active European banks earned an average of £4.8m, including base pay, bonuses and long-term incentive awards, compared with the average £10m paid by the big five US banks.

While European bank chiefs have lagged behind their US rivals for several years, the disparity is now more extreme, according to data compiled for the Financial Times by PwC.

This trend has developed as the global banking industry comes under pressure from tighter regulation, aggressive new competitors and low economic growth.

European banks have been hit hardest, particularly in their investment banking arms. In the first half of this year, the top five US banks scooped more than a third of the global investment banking fee pool, according to Dealogic - double the 17pc taken by the five top-ranked European banks.

US banks, swiftly recapitalised after the 2008 crisis, have been expanding while their European counterparts have been distracted by management issues. Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Standard Chartered have all recently changed chief executives, and have been under pressure from regulators to shrink assets and boost capital.

But pay levels across the sector have declined.

According to PwC data, the average investment bank employee was paid £202,000 last year, down 21pc since the 2006 peak.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, November 16th, 2015