AIB CHIEF executive Eugene Sheehy took a pay cut in 2007 as his remuneration package dropped by €358,000 to €2.1 million, according to the bank's 2007 annual report published yesterday, writes Simon Carswell, Finance Correspondent.

Mr Sheehy's pay package included a salary of €916,000, up from €860,000 in 2006, and a bonus of €850,000, a drop of 34 per cent from €1.3 million. The bank contributed €262,000 to his pension in 2007, compared to €224,000 a year earlier.

AIB's pretax profit fell 4 per cent to €2.5 billion in 2007.

The bank's finance director John O'Donnell received a package worth €1.273 million in 2007, compared to €1.075 million in 2006. His bonus increased to €600,000 from €500,000 in 2007, while his salary rose to €480,000 from €415,000.

Colm Doherty, managing director of AIB Capital Markets, earned €1.663 million in 2007, down from €1.975 million a year earlier. His bonus fell to €800,000 from €1.2 million.

Donal Forde, managing director of AIB Bank, took home a pay package of €1.394 million last year, which included a salary of €575,000 and a bonus of €600,000. He became an executive director of AIB on January 11th, 2007, so there are no comparable figures for his pay in 2006.

Bonuses paid to AIB's four executive directors last year totalled €2.85 million, down from €3 million. The bank's chairman, Dermot Gleeson, was paid fees of €475,000 in 2007, up from €408,000 the previous year.

Some 15 non-executive directors, including Mr Gleeson, shared fees totalling €1.524 million in 2007. Three directors retired during the year and four were appointed. Some 11 non-executive directors shared fees totalling €1.266 million in 2006.

Mr Sheehy held 255,845 AIB shares at the end of 2007, up from 105,284 a year earlier.

This stake was worth €3.5 million yesterday, compared to just more than €4 million at the start of 2008. AIB had provided loans totalling €18.1 million to eight directors and five senior managers at the end of 2007, up from €7.4 million.