Barclays splurges R191m

AWARDS NEEDED TO RETAIN TOP EXECUTIVES Barclay’s ‘SAxit’ was always expected to be an expensive affair, but it’s turning into a bonanza for key executives.

Barclays Africa has granted special restricted share awards (RSAs) worth R191 million to “key employees” in a bid to retain skills during the Barclays Plc sell-down.

The group’s remuneration report published at the end of March says the awards were not only made to top executives. The remuneration committee says they were granted to “74 key employees, including executive directors and prescribed officers”.

The group notes that the awards are in cash, and will be converted to equity “once executives are cleared to deal”.

In the money are group chief executive Maria Ramos (R8 million, which is 55% of her total fixed remuneration in 2016); deputy chief executive: South Africa Banking David Hodnett (R7 million, 58%) and financial director Jason Quinn (R3 million, 57%), appointed last September.

New deputy chief executive: Africa Banking Peter Matlare, appointed on August 1, 2016, did not receive any restricted shares.

Craig Bond, chief executive: Retail and Business Banking and Nomkhita Nqweni, chief executive: Wealth, investment Management and Insurance are two prescribed officers who received R3 million in RSAs (27% of pay for Bond and 40% for Nqweni).

The remaining R167 million in RSAs is shared among the 69 other “key employees”, who receive about R2.4 million each.

The performance period of the RSAs is for two years, from October 1, 2016 to September 30 2018, and the published performance conditions are as follows:

The remuneration committee, under Paul O’Flaherty, says that “further awards [of restricted share awards] will be granted in 2017 to ensure key skills are protected”.

The RSAs are separate to the share-based long-term incentives awarded to executives in 2016.

The total remuneration for the group’s four executive directors and three prescribed officers in 2016 was R114.7 million. This is down on the R118.4 million in 2015.

The sell-down by Barclays Plc of its stake in Barclays Africa and the separation of the two groups is proving to be a costly, difficult and time-consuming exercise.

Barclays Africa will receive contributions totalling R12.8 billion to fund the separation from Barclays Plc.

These comprise a R0.9 billion payment to “cover separation related expenses”, a R3.3 billion payment to terminate the existing Master Services Agreement between the two banks and a R8.6 billion contribution to “fund investment in our operations, technology, rebranding and other separation projects”.

hilton@moneyweb.co.za at immedia works