HSBC plans share payments in response to Brussels’ bonus cap
TOP STAFF at HSBC will receive quarterly payments of shares as part of their salaries, it emerged yesterday, as part of a plan to pay employees within the EU’s new bonus cap.
The bank wants to pay some employees mainly in bonuses so it can vary pay easily depending on performance and can claw back the pay years in future if required – but with the cap it has been forced to plan to hike salaries instead.
The payments will be made in shares and paid out gradually over five years to satisfy shareholders that there will still be a long-term element to the rewards.
However, these payouts, first reported by Sky News, cannot be clawed back in the way that can be applied with bonuses.