HSBC Holdings Plc’s bonus pool fell by nearly 4% last year to the lowest since 2020, amid a difficult year for dealmaking.
(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc’s bonus pool fell by nearly 4% last year to the lowest since 2020, amid a difficult year for dealmaking.
Payouts decreased to $3.36 billion in 2022, the London-based lender said in its annual report on Tuesday, led by a drop for the global banking and markets division.
HSBC said it protected junior banker bonuses, which rose on average due to inflationary and cost of living challenges. Payouts were differentiated by business performance and the strongest outcomes were for commercial banking, followed by wealth and personal banking.
Global investment banks are pushing hard to keep a lid on costs after increasing their headcounts in recent years during a war for talent. Business in China has been hard hit by regulatory crackdowns and the nation’s now-abandoned pursuit of zero Covid. Major shareholder Ping An Insurance Group Co. last year urged HSBC to deepen cost cuts.
Read more on falling banker bonuses in Asia
Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn said the bank increased the bonus pool in the fourth quarter compared to what was going to be because it had a good performance in the period, particularly in investment banking and markets business.
“We also increased the bonus pool significantly” for 2021 following the Covid crisis, so payouts for 2022 are “relatively flat” by comparison, Quinn said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
The bank boosted bonuses for 2021 by 31% to about $3.5 billion, the highest since 2014. The figure for 2022 is the lowest since a $2.66 billion payout in 2020.
Quinn also said HSBC isn’t planning “significant layoffs” in Asian investment banking.
“We see that as a growth opportunity for us,” he said. “We’ve had a good performance in Asia. We continue to invest in it.”
–With assistance from Manus Cranny.
(Updates with comments from CEO from the fifth paragraph)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.