HSBC faces shareholder revolt over remuneration

by Gill Montia

Story link: HSBC faces shareholder revolt over remuneration

HSBC is facing a shareholder rebellion over the remuneration of its executives.

The bank will hold its annual general meeting on 30th May and Pirc, the body that provides advice on corporate governance, is urging investors to vote against HSBC Holdings’ remuneration report.

Pirc regards the level of potential awards contained in the report as excessive and says that average salaries within the group are currently at the top end of the UK sector.

The annual bonus scheme allows a maximum remuneration of 250% of salary and 700% of salary for the HSBC Share Plan.

According to Pirc, this does not follow best practice because the two performance measures are not used concurrently.

In addition, Pirc maintains that HSBC shareholders are ill equipped to judge the validity of the bonus targets because they have insufficient information.

Last week, the Association of British Insurers placed HSBC on amber alert and advised investors to examine the bank’s system of bonuses carefully.