Lock the editor's digest lock for free
Roula Khalaf, the editor of FT, selects his favorite story in this week's newsletter.
HSBC will discuss awarding CEO Georges Elhedery to a pay package of up to £15 million, nearly six months after being appointed to the bank's major cost-cutting drive.
Under this plan, Elhedaly's fixed wages will be half, but according to those who have explained the issue, what is linked to performance can be significantly increased.
The Lebanese-born banker was given a total pay package worth £10.5 million when he took the top job in September.
No final decision has been made on the Elhedery salary debate, originally reported by Sky News.
HSBC and other UK lenders have more room for how to compensate some of the high-risk takers after the UK government's decision to scrap the cap with bankers' bonuses in 2023.
Barclays also proposed a compensation overhaul for CEO CS Venkatakrishnan. This will reduce your fixed salary from £2.95 million to £1.59 million, but will qualify for bonuses and long-term stock options worth eight times the new salary.
Elhedery has undertaken a major restructuring of HSBC over the past five months to simplify banks and reduce costs. This includes the merger of commercial and investment banking units and the decision to eliminate a critical portion of the investment banking business in the UK, Europe and the US.
Christina MA, head of global banking for HSBC's Asia-Pacific region, is leaving the bank within less than two years.
MA, who spent more than 20 years at Goldman Sachs and became a partner there in 2020, is leaving HSBC when El Hedery restructuring begins. Her exit was first reported by Bloomberg News. The MA did not immediately respond to requests for external working hours comments.
HSBC shows that there are substantial job cuts as part of the restructuring, but they do not offer a specific number.
With a total of £15 million, Elhedaly's wages will be significantly higher than that of his predecessor, Noel Quinn, whose gross wage package for the last year at the bank in 2023, worth £106.6 million. . That was almost twice as much as he received a year ago. It is mainly due to the vesting of long-term incentive plans. Quinn's base salary was £1.4 million in 2024.
HSBC declined to comment on Elhedery's wages and Ma's departure.