John Lewis Partnership poised to reduce bonus payout to staff March 9, 2015 THE JOHN Lewis Partnership will this week seek to cut its bonus pot for staff for a second year in a row after the supermarket price war took its toll on sales at its upmarket grocery chain Waitrose. Waitrose has grown sales and market share faster than its traditional supermarket rivals in recent years, thanks [...]
StanChart chops exec bonuses as profits tumble March 4, 2015 OUTGOING Standard Chartered chief Peter Sands is not taking a bonus for 2014, yesterday announcing all board-level execs who served for the full year are losing the payout. Pre-tax profits dived 30 per cent to $4.2bn (£2.8bn) on falling revenues, rising costs and the soaring bills from regulations and taxes. The UK-headquartered bank’s income fell [...]
Standard Chartered bonus bungle shows investors need to speak up March 4, 2015 Falling profits, boardroom turmoil and a declining return on equity: by any measure, Standard Chartered’s 2014 was a year to forget. So the decision of Peter Sands (whose resignation last week was met with a surge in the bank’s share price) to forgo a variable pay award for the year was necessary to avoid a [...]
European Banking Authority cracks down on British banker’s bonus cap “allowance” loophole March 4, 2015 The European Union is ramping up pressure on the UK to comply with new laws on capping bonuses which could see London based banks reducing remuneration. Europe’s banking watchdog has issued long-awaited draft guidelines on remuneration which address a grey area allowing banks to circumvent the rules which cap bonuses at two times that of [...]
Standard Chartered share price rises as boss Peter Sands gives up bonus March 4, 2015 Shares in troubled bank Standard Chartered were up six per cent this morning, despite reporting a sharp drop in pre-tax profits. Investor optimism was clearly high, as outgoing boss Peter Sands, who, it was revealed last week, will be replaced by Bill Winters, announced he and the rest of the board will forego their bonuses. [...]
As RBS reports a £3.5bn loss, is George Osborne right that senior executives should not get bonuses? February 26, 2015 Steve Davies, education director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes The question is not whether bonuses are the correct way to remunerate people. It is whether RBS should be making such payments when the bank is incurring serious losses. Clearly, the answer should be no. When a business is in financial straits, the [...]
Rothschild eyes pre-election bonus payouts to avoid Ed Balls tax February 23, 2015 Financial giant Rothschild is considering whether to hand out 2014 bonuses to staff early in order to avoid potential taxes that could be brought in if Labour wins the election. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has promised to introduce a £1.5bn to £2bn tax on bonuses during its first year in office to fund a “jobs [...]
UK investment bank Rothschild could pay bonuses early in case Labour wins February 22, 2015 UK investment bank Rothschild is weighing up paying staff bonuses early, in order to avoid new taxes that could be brought in if Labour wins the general election. The Financial Times spoke with two sources “familiar with the bank’s thinking” and revealed the banks could pay bonuses to its 1,000 London staff before the traditional [...]
HSBC under pressure to lower bonuses following tax dodging inquiry February 21, 2015 Top executives at HSBC are being encouraged to waive their bonuses for the year, following allegations the bank abetted tax dodging clients. Shareholders, politicians and large sections of the media will place the bank’s bonuses under intense scrutiny when its annual reports are released on Monday. According to the Financial Times, shareholders [...]
Bonuses down despite strong year for Britain’s biggest banks February 19, 2015 Payouts for top bankers have taken a tumble so far this year, according to industry data seen by City A.M., as the bonus cap combined with investor and political pressure takes its toll. Preliminary data from pay benchmarking site Emolument.com shows bonuses for front office staff falling precipitously this year compared with last year’s pay [...]