Bankers in Asia were paid larger bonuses in 2020 than colleagues elsewhere at HSBC which attributed the decision not only to the region’s performance but also its «strategic importance».
Although the bank posted a 20.4 percent drop in discretionary bonuses paid to $2.66 billion last year, according to a filing by the bank, Asia fared better than other regions.
«We also differentiated by market, with a better year-on-year outcome in Asia, reflecting the region’s strategic importance and consistent contribution towards group performance,» the bank said.
Top Bonuses
According to its annual report, 324 unnamed bankers were paid more than 1 million euros ($1.2 million) with five paid over 5 million euros and one paid between 9-10 million euros.
This compares to the 4.2 million British pounds ($6 million) paid to chief executive Noel Quinn who waved his cash bonus due to the pandemic and donated a quarter of his base salary of 1.3 million British pounds.
For 2020, the bank posted saw pre-tax profits drop 34 percent to $8.8 billion.
