HSBC quiet on Gulliver bonus report

Mar 2 2013

A bank that was last year forced to set aside £950 million to cover the cost of a mis-selling and money-laundering scandal has declined to comment on reports its chief executive will receive a bonus of around £2 million.

Stuart Gulliver's HSBC windfall will be deferred and subject to clawback, and he will not be able to cash it in until he retires or leaves, Sky News reported.

The bonus is for 2012 - a year in which the bank's head of compliance resigned in front of a US Senate sub-committee.

The bank exposed the US to billions of dollars worth of money laundering, drug trafficking and terrorist financing.

David Bagley, who had been HSBC head of group compliance since 2002, stepped down before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs sub-committee after its findings were published.

Mr Gulliver later apologised for "the mistakes of the past" as it set aside a further 1.5 billion US dollars (£950 million) to cover the cost of the scandal.

HSBC will release its full-year results on Monday when it is also expected to announce Mr Gulliver's bonus as part of a multi-million pound pay package.

The bank has declined to comment.