HSBC, Standard Chartered Bosses to Forgo Bonuses

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – HSBC and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) top executives announced on Thursday that they would forgo their bonuses for 2020 and donate part of their salaries to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The moves are the executives’ apology to their shareholders, who were outraged when the two banks said on April 1 that they would cancel their dividends and not buy back shares.

Some shareholders even demanded that both banks eliminate top management’s pay for a year.

A HSBC internal memo listed chairman Mark Tucker, chief executive Noel Quinn and chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson among the executives waiving their bonuses and donating part of their salaries to charity.

U.K. chief regulator Prudential (LON:PRU) Regulation Authority (PRA) had requested on March 31 that banks take such measures in the light of the economic impact of the virus.

HSBC (HK:0005) shares in Hong Kong rose 2.01% by 13:10 AM ET (6:10 AM GMT) following the news. Standard Chartered's (HK:2888) Hong Kong shares rose by 3.53%.

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