McLintock is Pru's big earner

Michael Mclintock, head of M&G, the fund management business owned by Prudential, earned more than the group's chief executive last year.

Mr McLintock, 42, was the highest-paid director, with salary, bonus, benefits and incentives of £1.9m, according to the company's annual report published yesterday. This was a 46 per cent rise on his 2002 package, boosted by a bonus of £1.2m. M&G reported a 17 per cent rise in profits last year to £83m. He was also awarded £642,200 from a Prudential long-term incentive plan.

Jonathan Bloomer, chief executive of the Prudential group, saw his pay rise 10 per cent on 2002. He pocketed £1.3m, compared with £1.1m in 2002. This was made up of £760,000 in salary and £349,000 in bonus and benefit payments, as well as £244,000 towards his pension. He lost out, however, on a share package, having failed to meet the incentive plan's performance criteria. Pru's other directors also missed out on their three-year share plan. In a new three-year plan, Mr Bloomer received shares worth £89,550 but these will not pay out until 2006. The performance criteria that will trigger this award have been tightened compared with previous schemes.

The chief executive of Friends Provident was also toppled from the top pay-slot by the head of its fund management business, Isis Asset Management. The group yesterday revealed it had paid Keith Satchell, its chief executive, £777,000 in bonuses and salary in 2003. Howard Carter, chief executive of Isis, earned £797,000, up from £515,000 last year. Mr Satchell, however, saw his pension fund rise by £550,000.

Mr Bloomer, along with Richard Harvey of Aviva, David Prosser of Legal & General and Sandy Crombie of Standard Life, was recently rounded on by MPs for receiving salary increases while policyholders confronted endowment shortfalls of £40bn.

Mark Tucker, who left Pru last year as head of its Asian operations and has recently been made finance director of HBOS, earned £454,000, but can look forward to £363,267 from a long-term incentive plan in June.