Scotiabank CEO paid C$9.9 mln; Dodge nominated

* Waugh gets 54 pct pay hike

* Scotia nominates David Dodge to board

TORONTO, March 1 (Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) said on Monday it boosted the pay of Chief Executive Rick Waugh by 54 percent in 2009 to C$9.9 million ($9.5 million), in part because he shielded the bank from the worst of the financial crisis.

The board at Scotiabank, Canada's third-largest bank, had cut Waugh's pay in 2008 to C$6.4 million from C$9.2 million in 2007, making the 2009 jump a return to near his compensation level prior to the market and banking crisis of 2008.

Waugh was paid C$1 million in salary plus C$8.7 million in incentives, options and shares, for direct compensation of C$9.7 million. He also received another C$230,730 in pension value and taxable perks.

Waugh's "strong and active leadership guided the bank through the turbulence of the past two years," the bank said in its proxy circular.

"His ongoing emphasis on our traditional strengths of prudent risk management and expense management was critically important in shielding the bank from the worst effects of the financial crisis."

Scotia notched a C$3.5 billion profit in 2009, up 13 percent from 2008.

All of the big Canadian banks struggled with rising loan losses in 2009 and profitability was down from levels seen before the financial crisis, but the sector has generally outperformed global rivals.

No Canadian bank accepted government bailout money, and focus on executive compensation has generally been less intense than criticism of bankers' pay in the United States or Britain.

In recent weeks, Canada's largest bank, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO), said it paid Chief Executive Gord Nixon C$10.4 million in 2009, the same amount No. 2 Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) paid Chief Executive Ed Clark. No. 5 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) said it paid Chief Executive Gerry McCaughey C$6.24 million.

Scotiabank, like its Canadian peers, will also give its investors a nonbinding "advisory" vote on compensation at the bank's annual meeting. Scotia's annual meeting is in April.

In its proxy circular, Scotiabank also nominated former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge to its board of directors. Dodge headed the central bank from 2001 to 2008 and is a senior advisor at Bennett Jones law firm. He was deputy finance minister from 1992 to 1997 and deputy health minister from 1998 to 2001, according to the proxy.

($1=$1.04 Canadian) (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Frank McGurty)