HSBC chief in line for £13m

22nd Mar 2011 22:04

HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver could be in line for a £13m pay package this year if shareholders approve, according to reports this evening.The bank's compensation committee is proposing Gulliver should get a £1.25m base salary in 2011, a bonus of as much as three times that amount and a long-term incentive payment equivalent to six times his salary, Bloomberg reported, quoting unnamed HSBC sources.The LTIP would be paid in shares after five years and Mr Gulliver would be required to hold them until he retires from banking. The report said the package would also include a new set of non-financial targets, which is why the bank is sounding out its owners to gauge their reaction.The bank said that consultation with its major shareholders is ongoing and if a new package is proposed it will be put forward at the AGM.A new huge bonus deal in the bank sector could be deeply embarrassing for the UK government on the eve of what is expected to be its second austerity Budget where the emphasis is likely to be on more belt-tightening. Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond received £6.5m pay and options this year, while Stephen Hester at Royal Bank of Scotland was awarded a £7.7m package, which he described as "low" by industry standards.Chancellor George Osborne is widely expected to announce a tweak in corporation tax tomorrow to head off the possibility of HSBC and Barclays acting on veiled threats both have made to move their HQs overseas.