(Reuters) -British lender Barclays is proposing a revamp of pay packages earned by its CEO and finance director, with higher bonuses on offer for outperformance in exchange for lower fixed pay, according to a Sky News report on Thursday.
The lender has written to investors to propose capping CEO CS Venkatakrishnan’s maximum earnings at just over 14 million pounds ($17.3 million), compared with 9.9 million pounds in 2023.
Under the plan, the banker could see his annual fixed pay nearly halved from around 3 million pounds in 2023 to 1.6 million pounds, according to Sky News.
Barclays declined to supply a copy of the shareholder letter to Reuters.
“Whether or not the remuneration committee chooses to propose any change to our current Directors’ Remuneration Policy in 2025, the policy will continue to focus on rewarding sustainable performance, and close alignment with shareholders’ interests,” the company’s spokesperson said.
The new arrangement, which will be put to shareholders for approval at the annual general meeting this spring, will see Venkatakrishnan become eligible for bonuses and long-term stock awards worth up to eight times his new fixed pay, Sky News reported.
The committee will publish their views and decisions in the 2024 Annual Report on Feb. 13, the spokesperson told Reuters.
Venkatakrishnan, who has been at the helm since 2021, could hit the upper end of his remuneration package if the bank achieves a return on tangible equity in excess of 14%.
At its third-quarter results in October, the British lender said it had achieved a return on tangible equity of 11.5% in the first nine months of 2024, and was on track to achieve greater than 10% for 2024 as a whole and greater than 12% in 2026.
($1 = 0.8097 pounds)
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru, Sinead Cruise in London; Additional reporting by Shanima A; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Jan Harvey)
