CBA bosses cop pay cut

COMMONWEALTH Bank bosses will cop an “unprecedented” $16 million bonus cut over the bank’s shock money laundering charges but could still face a shareholder revolt over executive pay.

Despite the bonus crackdown, executives are still expected to walk away with tens of millions in pay which has already angered some heavyweight investors, the Bulletin understands.

The Commonwealth Bank board headed by chair Catherine Livingstone moved to cut bonuses yesterday, after last week’s revelations the bank failed to report 53,700 suspect transactions worth more than $500 million.

Ms Livingstone yesterday “reduced to zero” the shortterm bonuses for bank boss Ian Narev and 11 other executives for the last year.

Based on the previous year’s figures this is about $16 million from a total executive remuneration package of $44 million. The exact figures will

be known next week when the annual report is released.

Mr Narev is expected to lose about $2.8 million from a total estimated package of $8.7 million.

Key personnel will also be whacked, with chief risk officer David Cohen to lose about $1 million and retail banking head Matthew Comyn to lose about $1.3 million.

But Mr Narev’s job seems safe with Ms Livingstone saying the Sydney-based banker “retains the full confidence of the board”.

Ms Livingstone also turned the knife on herself and fellow board members, cutting director fees by 20 per cent in the current 2018 financial year.

She will cop a $174,000 pay cut to about $700,000 as a result of the decision. The rest of the board will see about $60,000 stripped from their $300,000-a-year salaries.

Martin Lawrence, research director at corporate pay experts Ownership Matters, said the cuts were “unprecedented for a major bank”.

But a large Melbournebased institutional investor said the move was “completely inadequate” and the bankers would not feel the cuts due to already high wages.

Experts said following the laundering charges, the board would also be mindful CBA shareholders last year voted down the bank’s remuneration report over fury at previous controversies.