“The data underscores the need for entities and competent authorities to analyse closer the reasons for the observed gender pay gap and to address gender pay and gender representation disparities,” the European Banking Authority stated in its benchmarking report published on Tuesday 15 April 2025. Photo: Shutterstock

“The data underscores the need for entities and competent authorities to analyse closer the reasons for the observed gender pay gap and to address gender pay and gender representation disparities,” the European Banking Authority stated in its benchmarking report published on Tuesday 15 April 2025. Photo: Shutterstock

Women in EU investment firms earned 32% less than men in 2023, the European banking Authority found, as bonus ratios reached 521% in some areas and gender representation in top-paid roles remained low.

“A material gender pay gap persisted across EU banks and investment firms in 2023,” stated the European Banking Authority in its report on remuneration and gender pay gap benchmarking, on 15 April 2025.

The EBA found that women earned significantly less than men across both banks and investment firms. In banking institutions, female staff earned on average 24.48% less than their male counterparts. Amongst staff identified as having a material impact on risk--referred to as “identified staff”--the gender pay gap was 21.64%. In investment firms, the disparity was more severe, with female staff earning 32.0% less and female identified staff earning 31.74% less than men in equivalent roles. The EBA concluded that this gap was primarily due to the underrepresentation of women in higher paid positions.

Unequal representation at top positions

The report revealed that, whilst women and men were nearly equally represented across institutions--where women held a median representation of 51.65%--they remained underrepresented in investment firms, accounting for just 35.43% of staff. This disparity was more evident in the highest pay quartiles, where women occupied only 33.45% of top-paid positions in institutions and just 12.99% in investment firms.

Remuneration trends

Alongside its annual remuneration review, the EBA for the first time included a comprehensive section on gender pay gap covering all staff, including those identified as risk takers. The report aimed to provide greater transparency on remuneration structures across the EU financial sector.

In terms of remuneration trends, the EBA found that practices in institutions remained broadly stable between 2021 and 2023. However, investment firms experienced a significant increase in the ratio between variable and fixed remuneration following the introduction of the investment firms directive (IFD). In 2023, the average ratio of variable to fixed pay for identified staff in investment firms was 145.85%, down from 191.42% in 2022, but still markedly higher than in institutions, where the ratio was 59.59% (2022: 58.62%).

The report linked higher and more volatile bonus payments in investment firms to differing business models and fluctuating profitability. The highest bonuses in institutions were concentrated in investment banking, whereas in investment firms, they were primarily in the areas of dealing on own account, underwriting and placing of instruments. In these business lines, the average ratio reached 521% in 2023, a significant rise from 2021 levels, when a 100% limit (or 200% with shareholder approval) was in place. Bonus ratios in other business areas remained between 35% and 120%.

The EBA stressed that the observed gender pay disparities required further analysis by institutions and relevant authorities. The regulator confirmed it is “also revising its internal governance guidelines to further improve the monitoring of gender aspects in institutions and investment firms.”

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