Twenty one bankers in Ireland received €1 million or more in remuneration in 2011, according to data published yesterday by the European Banking Authority (EBA).

This was the same number as in 2010. However, the average remuneration paid to the bankers dropped to €1.38 million in 2011 from €1.49 million in the previous year.

The 2011 figure comprised 14 people in investment banking, three in asset management and four in “other business areas”. Nobody in retail banking earned €1 million or more that year.

The aggregate fixed remuneration for the 21 bankers was €6.6 million, or an average of €314,285.

The aggregate level of variable remuneration, which would include bonuses, came to €22.4 million, or an average of €1.06 million.

In 2010, one retail banker in Ireland was included in the data. This is likely to be former AIB executive director Colm Doherty, who earned €2.7 million in 2010, according to the bank's annual report for that year.

The EBA data shows that 2,436 bankers in the UK earned €1 million or more in 2011, €1.4 million on average.