Top bosses' pay rises 12 percent

LONDON (Reuters) - The median pay, including bonuses, of chief executives at the country's 100 biggest companies has risen 12 percent to 2.617 million pounds ($5.32 million), according to KPMG's annual survey of directors' pay.

But without new CEOs who are not yet benefiting from long-term incentives, median pay rose 16 percent in the 12 months to end-March, KPMG said on Monday.

Bonuses and long-term incentives make up over two thirds of total pay. FTSE 100 finance directors' median pay was 1.455 million pounds including a median base salary up 8 percent to 475,000 pounds.

Growth of earnings per share was the most common method used by companies to measure the performance of their CEOs, finance directors and other executive directors.

With any effect from the global credit crunch and related market volatility yet to be felt, KPMG partner Mary Carter said: "Any market downturn would clearly reduce the value of long-term incentives so in such an event we would expect to see the ratio of fixed to variable pay elements to swing towards the fixed".

The survey also found that just 3 percent of executive directors at FTSE 100 companies are women, rising to 4 percent in the next 250 biggest companies.