Nordea raised its chair fee by 10% this spring, to €440,000 a year. Its chair is now paid exactly as much as Nokia's, and both earn far more than the chair of any other Helsinki large cap.
A year ago Nordea paid its chair €400,000, the second-highest fee in the segment. This year's annual general meeting added €40,000. Nokia kept its chair fee unchanged at €440,000.
The gap to the rest is wide. The third-highest chair fee is Sampo's €250,000, followed by UPM at €240,000. The typical large cap chair earns €166,500, so Nordea and Nokia pay their chairs about 2.6 times as much.
Nordea gave its chair a bigger raise than the rest of its board
The rest of the Nordea board received smaller raises. Ordinary members went up 3.1%, to €115,500, and the vice chair 5.6%, to €190,000. As a result, Nordea's chair now earns 3.8 times what an ordinary board member earns, up from 3.6 times a year ago. No other large cap has a wider gap between its chair and its members.
Nokia pays every board seat at the top of the market
Nokia spreads its money differently. An ordinary member of the Nokia board earns €185,000 a year, more than the chair is paid at 21 of the 32 large caps. Nokia's vice chair earns €210,000, the highest vice chair fee in the segment. Nordea pays most for the chair; Nokia pays the most, or joint most, for every seat.
The top fee has not risen, but two boards now pay it
For nomination boards preparing next year's proposals, the highest chair fee in Helsinki has not moved: Nokia already paid €440,000 in 2025. What has changed is that it is no longer a single outlier. Two of the largest boards in the market now pay the same top fee, and no other board comes close.
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5 min read
Nordea raised its chair fee by 10% this spring, to €440,000 a year. Its chair is now paid exactly as much as Nokia's, and both earn far more than the chair of any other Helsinki large cap.
A year ago Nordea paid its chair €400,000, the second-highest fee in the segment. This year's annual general meeting added €40,000. Nokia kept its chair fee unchanged at €440,000.
The gap to the rest is wide. The third-highest chair fee is Sampo's €250,000, followed by UPM at €240,000. The typical large cap chair earns €166,500, so Nordea and Nokia pay their chairs about 2.6 times as much.
Nordea gave its chair a bigger raise than the rest of its board
The rest of the Nordea board received smaller raises. Ordinary members went up 3.1%, to €115,500, and the vice chair 5.6%, to €190,000. As a result, Nordea's chair now earns 3.8 times what an ordinary board member earns, up from 3.6 times a year ago. No other large cap has a wider gap between its chair and its members.
Nokia pays every board seat at the top of the market
Nokia spreads its money differently. An ordinary member of the Nokia board earns €185,000 a year, more than the chair is paid at 21 of the 32 large caps. Nokia's vice chair earns €210,000, the highest vice chair fee in the segment. Nordea pays most for the chair; Nokia pays the most, or joint most, for every seat.
The top fee has not risen, but two boards now pay it
For nomination boards preparing next year's proposals, the highest chair fee in Helsinki has not moved: Nokia already paid €440,000 in 2025. What has changed is that it is no longer a single outlier. Two of the largest boards in the market now pay the same top fee, and no other board comes close.
This five-part series looks at board fees at 32 Nasdaq Helsinki large caps, as set at the 2025 and 2026 annual general meetings. IQM Quantum Computers and Sensofusion, recently listed, are not included. The figures are base annual fees for the chair, vice chair and member, taken from each company’s AGM resolution release and reviewed by our data team. Committee and meeting fees are excluded. SSAB and Telia fees are converted from kronor at the European Central Bank rate on each meeting date. Every company figure links to its source.
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