This paper aims at comparing the respective impact of the traditional Human Capital Variables (HCV) and of competences explicitly assessed on employees' remuneration. The data are derived from an original survey conducted in five large banking companies in Portugal. Six hundred clerks were interviewed regarding their individual characteristics (age, gender, education, experience in the labour market, experience in the company). Their respective supervisors were asked to assess their competences using a list of thirty skills. Complementary models are used in this research, relating to earnings and the distribution of profit shares to employees. Analyses take the specific structure of the multilevel data into account. These different dimensions show that traditional human capital variables are important determinants for earnings, whereas competences explain the profit shares distributed to employees.