The chief executives of Europe’s 50 biggest public companies are starting to close the gap with their US counterparts in terms of total pay packages, a Hay Group study found. They also make more than their American peers when only guaranteed salaries are considered.

The chiefs of the US’s 50 biggest companies by market capitalisation took a pay cut last year, bringing home a median package of €9.7m ($11.2m) in salary, bonus and long-term compensation, down from just under €13m the previous year, the consultancy found.