£10.6million golden hello for new HSBC finance chief

HSBC’S next finance chief will receive a golden hello of up to £10.6m.

Ewen Stevenson ( pictured) will leave rival Royal Bank of Scotland in coming months, replacing Iain Mackay.

Stevenson is due to get HSBC shares worth up to £9m to compensate him for RBS stock he will no longer receive under various long-term bonus schemes.

The bank will pay out up to £1.6m more to replace any annual bonus which he would have earned this year from RBS.

The actual figure will depend on RBS’s share price and whether Stevenson hits targets.

After starting at HSBC, Stevenson will get a fixed salary of £1.7m and £210,000 towards his pension, plus benefits and up to £3.7m in bonuses.

It means he could earn as much as £5.6m a year if he hits targets.

Mackay, a 56-year-old Scot, is retiring after 11 years as HSBC’s finance director and was on the same pay package.

Stevenson, 52, has been at bailed-out Natwest owner RBS since 2014 – helping clear up a long catalogue of past mistakes and prepare the lender to return to the private sector.

He earned £3.3m last year at the taxpayer-backed bank.

No date has been given for when the New Zealander will join HSBC, but he has pledged to stay with RBS for as long as necessary to ensure a smooth transition.

In praising Stevenson, HSBC boss John Flint described him as ‘a highly experienced executive with a proven track record as a chief financial officer,’ adding: ‘He is both a strategic thinker and a highly accomplished expert in his field.’ RBS shares fell 1.7pc, or 4.4p, to 257.1p. Shares in HSBC, meanwhile, lost 2.6pc, or 18.5p, to close at 702.4p.