Gordon Nixon, the chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada, RY-T

the country’s largest bank, was paid $10.4-million in 2009, up from $8.75-million the prior year.

Including the value of his pension, his compensation package amounted to $12.1-million, up from $9.56-million in 2008, according to the bank’s proxy circular.

However, Mr. Nixon did not take home most of his 2008 pay. Although RBC came through the financial crisis relatively unscathed, Mr. Nixon decided to forego $4.95-million of his 2008 pay cheque, given the financial and economic climate. Most of the CEOs of the big five Canadian banks similarly handed back some of their pay that year.

Last week, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM-T

said its CEO, Gerald McCaughey, was paid $6.24-million in 2009, down 24 per cent from $8.16-million in 2008