HSBC shrinks boss’s pay packet after outcry
HSBC chief executive John Flint’s pay packet has fallen by almost a quarter of a million pounds after shareholder pressure forced the bank to revamp its pension plan for bosses.
Investors urged the banking giant to change its pension payouts earlier this month after it emerged that Mr Flint was getting 30pc of his base salary, or £372,000, in lieu of his pension while most other staff got just 16pc.
HSBC said on Friday that after speaking to shareholders it had decided to reduce the cash in lieu of pension allowance to 10pc of base salary.
The decision will affect all executive directors including Mr Flint, whose pension cash payment will fall to £124,000. It means that his total pay for 2019 will be just over £1.2m.
HSBC defended Mr Flint’s higher payment earlier this month, following criticism. The bank said that the 30pc figure was “equivalent to 16 per cent of salary after UK income tax and national insurance deductions”.
It added that the figure was reduced from 50pc of salary paid under the pre- vious policy, in force before 2016.
The Investment Association, the lobby group for UK fund managers, said last month it would flag any executive director being paid a pension contribution of 25pc of salary or more.
Andrew Ninian, the association’s corporate governance director, said HSBC had “shown their willingness to engage with, listen to and act upon the views of their shareholders” by changing its policy.
An HSBC spokesman said it had “listened to the views of our stakeholders, recognising that market practice and expectations have evolved rapidly”.
Shareholders will vote on the plan on April 12.