HSBC cuts down staff bonus, while CEO gets 14% pay hike

Global recession has seen employees suffer pay cuts if not job cuts, but CEOs get to take digital detox vacations even after taking responsibility. Some are slashing their own salary while cutting down the workforce, also they make more money from shares when stocks rise after layoffs. As firms justify drastic moves as cost cutting measures, HSBC staff have lost their bonuses while their CEO got a pay hike.

The leading lender has announced that it cut down the bonus pool for 2022 by 4 per cent, but at the same time CEO Noel Quinn's salary surged by 14 per cent. Quinn most likely received $12.6 million as the bank clocked strong profits for the fourth quarter, but investors are cautious. It's possible that the income coming from higher interest rates may have reached their peak.

HSBC is prioritising for people based on high performance at commercial banks, while the fall in number of deals has prompted them to trim bonuses. The lender is defying the trend among British banks to increase bonuses for staff, while common people are bearing the burden of higher mortgage rates and commodity prices. The bank's Indian arm has also reported a 15 per cent rise in its profit before taxes.