HSBC doubles CEO pay despite Q4 profits fall

HSBC has nearly doubled the pay of its CEO, Noel Quinn, to £10.6 million, up from £5.6 million in 2022, despite a drop in the bank’s profits in the fourth quarter, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.

The bank also increased its overall bonus pool for staff by 12 per cent to $3.8 million. However, the bank reported a surprise drop in fourth-quarter profits to $1billion from $5bn a year earlier, primarily due to a $3 billion charge linked to its stake in the Bank of Communications in China, which is struggling with a real estate downturn.

This news caused HSBC shares to drop seven per cent on Wednesday morning, making it the worst performer on the FTSE 100 and putting it on track for its biggest daily drop since the early days of the pandemic in April 2020.