The truth over board room pay
REAL pay to non-executive directors of FTSE 100 companies has fallen, according to figures released this morning.
Pay in the year to June 2011 rose by a median of four per cent, Incomes Data Services has found – lower than both the main measures of inflation over the period.
In the 12 months to June the retail price index measure of the cost of living came in at five per cent, while the consumer price index showed a 4.2 per cent rise in prices.
The research of London’s top 100 blue chips revealed large discrepancies in remuneration at board level, with non-execs (NEDs) receiving between £30,000 and £115,000. Chairman fees ranged from £90,000 to £750,000.
The lowest NED fee paid (£30,000) was at the miner Fresnillo. Basic NED fee levels at HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds were recorded at £95,000, £70,000, and £65,000 respectively.
While the lowest paid chairman (on £90,000 for the year) was at financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, large banks were among the highest payers to chairs. Barclays, Lloyds and RBS occupied three of the top four positions, paying £700,000-£750,000 to their heads.
Nasreen Rahman, author of the report, cited “increasing pressure on NEDs to solve the problems surrounding executive pay and performance as well as improve corporate strategy”. The demands have propped up fee levels, Rahman said.