Oh come on Peterr, if we ban compensation packages like that one, how on earth can these fine, upstanding institutions get the intelligent leaders they need?
/snark

There’s an angle I hadn’t considered before. . .

Recruiter: “OK, there’s this banking job that’s open. They’re looking for a CEO.”

Candidate: “CEO of a bank? Me? You’ve got to be kidding. Who’d want to be responsible for charging outrageous fees for minimal services, or crafting deceptive lending come-ons, so as to entice people into paying more for a loan than they really need to?”

Recruiter: “Tell me about it. But actually, the bank’s board recognizes just how ugly a job it is.”

Candidate: “What do you mean?”

Recruiter: “Well, they’ve put together an eight-figure compensation package, just to try to lure someone into the job. It’s not like someone’s going to do this work for the love of the task at hand or anything.”

/snark

Seriously

Sounds like your garden-variety annuity payment. Some other chap, not named Ken, also got the same annuity in 2005, factoring in inflation.

Can somebody please explain why anyone would use banks instead of credit unions?

Because they don’t know about credit unions and how they differ from banks. Every time I hear anyone telling horror stories about credit card rates, I ask them if they realize that credit unions still issue cards at reasonable rates and remind them that they can open an account, which they will most likely find has cheaper account fees, too, open a credit card and then balance transfer and close out the crazy bank card. Of at least a dozen I’ve talked to, all thought that was an excellent idea and all were surprised to hear of what credit unions are and how much better they work. Maybe it’s the lack of billions in advertising. I have used only credit unions for years and this latest round just makes me more glad than ever. I wish I’d been talking up credit unions all along. If the govt doesn’t care about too big to fail, maybe the people have to take the matter into their own hands.

Yep, the buying and selling of a soul just ain’t as cheap as it used to be.