Standard Life chief Crombie pockets £2.3m as directors paid £7m in total

SANDY CROMBIE, chief executive of Standard Life, saw his total pay packet last year rise to £2.31 million – up from £1.56m the year before.

This year's pay included a £670,000 cash payment from a long-term incentive plan from which he gained nothing the year before.

Stripping out payouts from incentive plans, directors at the Edinburgh-based insurer saw combined pay packages rise to £7.05m, from £6.27m in 2006.

According to the group's latest remuneration report, finance director David Nish got £175,000 for his first two months with the company, after joining in November 2006. Last year his pay rose to £945,000.

Trevor Matthews, who recently resigned his post as Standard's retail chief executive to become chief executive at Friends Provident, got £1.01m – down from £1.28m previously.

Elsewhere, former finance director Alison Reed reached an agreed payment of £1.13m "in respect of the termination" of her employment in October 2006. Standard paid £97,500 towards her legal fees.