Portugal’s top bank CEOs earned €7.4 million in 2025

The chief executives of Portugal’s five largest banks received a combined €7.4 million in 2025, up nearly 17% from a year earlier, accordingo to data compiled by ECO  from annual reports. The increase came in a year of record profits across the sector and as Novobanco agreed its €6.4 billion sale to France’s Groupe BPCE.

Novobanco chief executive Mark Bourke was the highest-paid banker in the Portuguese market, with total remuneration of about €2.4 million, up 78% from 2024. His package included a higher fixed salary, a bonus of more than €1.1 million and a €300,000 expatriate allowance. Bourke is set to remain in charge after the French takeover closes. Novobanco posted a record €828 million profit in 2025.

Miguel Maya of BCP ranked second, with pay of more than €1.7 million, up 10%, while Pedro Castro e Almeida received about €1.3 million before stepping down as head of Santander Portugal in early March. He was replaced by Isabel Guerreiro, the first woman to lead a major bank in Portugal.

At BPI, João Pedro Oliveira e Costa saw his remuneration fall 8.5% to €1.16 million. Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) chief executive Paulo Macedo was the lowest paid among the five, with €964,000, despite leading the country’s largest bank, which reported close to €2 billion in profit.

In total, the executive boards of the five banks earned almost €29.7 million, up 10% from 2024. Bonuses rose 16% to €12.2 million and accounted for more than 40% of total executive pay, while fixed salaries were broadly stable at around €15 million. Novobanco and BCP had the largest executive pay bills, each above €7 million, while CGD’s rose 11% to more than €6.3 million in a year marked by management changes.