(Bloomberg) -- Bankers at HSBC Holdings Plc can expect to share a bonus pool for 2024 worth at least as much as last year’s haul of about $3.8 billion.
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The London-based bank said on Tuesday it has put aside $300 million more in performance-related pay in the first nine months of 2024 than the same period last year. Overall staff pay pot for the year would be “broadly in line” with 2023 when the bank’s bonus pool hit its highest level in a decade.
The higher bonus pool contributed to a slight bump in HSBC’s operating expenses in the first three quarters along with inflation and its continued investment in technology, according to the latest earnings report. The UK bank maintained its cost growth guidance of approximately 5% for the full year of 2024.
Costs are under the microscope at the moment as new Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery seeks to keep a lid on expenses against a backdrop of falling global interest rates. HSBC has already slowed down hiring and asked investment bankers to rein in their travel and entertainment expenses as part of belt-tightening effort.
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