After a year of rising interest rates and robust earnings, many banks are rewarding their leaders with revamped pay packages. At the same time, boards must maintain investor confidence and heed calls for course correction on pay practices shaped by regulations, removal of the bonus cap in the UK, and stakeholder scrutiny. From London to Zurich, CEOs are seeing big shifts in how, how much and why they're paid.
What happened so far?
In a world of evolving compensation, confidence, and course corrections, the best advice for 2025’s bank leaders might be to fasten their seatbelts.
The 2025 AGM season has been eventful on the pay front, with many major European banks adjusting executive compensation to reflect strong recent performance and, in some cases, new regulatory freedoms. Broadly, 2024 was a banner year for bank profitability – record net profits and rising returns on tangible equity (RoTE) gave boards the cover to propose bolder pay packages. Total shareholder returns also climbed (helped by hefty dividends and buybacks), bolstering the argument that higher executive incentives were "earned" by exceptional results. But the story differs by region:
- The UK has embarked on a post-Brexit bonus cap shake-up
- The Eurozone is tweaking pay under an enduringly strict regime
- Switzerland is navigating post-Credit Suisse sensitivities
This is just a short summary of the article, to read the full article please complete the form on the right, or below on a mobile device.
Contacts
