The new chief executive of HSBC, Georges Elhedery, could scoop a maximum pay package worth more than £15m, as part of a potential deal being put to its biggest shareholders.
The bank’s remuneration committee is testing whether investors are receptive to an overhaul that would slash Elhedery’s salary but boost his potential bonus payouts and ultimately raise his maximum pay package by nearly 43%.
The move, which is still being finalised and would have to be put to a shareholder vote at its annual meeting in May, has been triggered by the UK’s decision to scrap the EU bonus cap which was introduced to limit risk-taking in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The cap previously limited payouts to two times a banker’s salary.
The proposals, first reported by Sky News, would take Elhedery’s total potential pay package up from around £10.5m to more than £15m.
Elhedery previously served as the bank’s chief financial officer and took the reins from predecessor Noel Quinn in September 2024.
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He wasted no time making his mark on the bank, announcing a major restructuring plan in October that would split the bank’s operations geographically between east and west and result in a swathe of job losses. It emerged in recent weeks that the overhaul will also include shutting parts of HSBC’s investment banking operations – involved in mergers and acquisitions and equity fundraising for listed companies – in the UK, US and Europe.
The London-headquartered bank, which makes the bulk of its profit in Asia, is due to give further details when it publishes full-year earnings on 19 February.
The potential pay changes follow similar moves by Barclays, which is also looking to take advantage of the bonus cap removal and offer a lower salary and bigger bonus package for its chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan. It is understood to take his maximum payout to £14m.
A spokesperson for HSBC said: “While no decisions have been taken, the remuneration committee’s objective is for the pay outcomes for our executive directors to be strongly aligned with performance and shareholders’ interests. We will publish details with our results on 19 February.”
