Institutional determinants of remuneration policy transparency in the banking sector in Poland

This article aims to assess the factors determining the level of transparency of executive compensation policies in Polish public banks. Two groups of institutional factors affecting the propensity of banks to disclose information on various aspects of the remuneration policy have been analyzed. The first group is associated with the response of banks to the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Increase of compensation transparency during this period may have been a result of pressure coming from informal capital market institutions. The second group concerns changes in formal institutions — the legal system, which took place after 2011. The research tool used to assess the role of these two groups of institution is an index of remuneration policy transparency. The survey was conducted for the period 2005–2013 on a sample of 16 banks listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.