What kind of bonus increase is 1.1 percent? The kind Canada’s six top banks are seen paying their employees, on average, for 2010.

The most generous packages this year are the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the nation’s No. 5 bank, which boosted bonus payouts 11 percent for the year to C$1.1 billion. CIBC, which is planning the highest yearly increase among the top six, raised bonus payments 5.6 percent in 2009 over the previous year.

The other results are all over the map, according to the latest earnings reports:

- The nation’s largest bank, Royal Bank of Canada, set aside C$3.38 billion for variable compensation – 5 percent less than in 2009, which had been 32 percent higher than in 2008.

- Bank of Montreal set aside C$1.46 billion, up 8.7 percent from 2009.

- Bank of Nova Scotia’s performance-based compensation rose 5.1 percent to C$1.09 billion.

- Finally, bonus payouts for Toronto-Dominion Bank and National Bank of Canada were close to flat at C$1.34 billion and C$535 million.

Capital markets profits fell at five of the six banks this fiscal year as trading revenue slid from the record highs in 2009 and stock sales and mergers slowed. Canadian equity financings are also down about a third to $26.3 billion this year, according by Bloomberg.