Staff at Standard Chartered Bank's Hong Kong unit are likely to join their counterparts at HSBC and Hang Seng Bank in receiving an 'attractive' performance-based bonus at the end of the year, according to chief executive Peter Sullivan.
While declining to provide the bank's internal target and the percentage range of the bonus, Mr Sullivan hinted that the 27 per cent net profit jump recorded in the first half had provided a strong base for the 4,000-odd staff at the local unit to qualify for the incentive.
'The policy at Standard Chartered is that we will have performance-related bonuses at the end of the year,' said Mr Sullivan. 'With our performance [in the first half] being at a record level, we expect to see a very attractive performance-based bonus for our employees this year.'
Standard Chartered was the third lender to indicate recently that its staff could benefit from strong interim results. Earlier, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp chairman Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen announced that the bank's 14,000 employees could enjoy bonuses if the bank exceeded an internal profit target of 11 per cent, with the actual payouts depending on individual performance.
Staff at subsidiary Hang Seng Bank were promised an across-the-board bonus equal to two months' salary if the bank exceeded internal targets.
Although other banks have already pledged to offer high incentive bonuses at the end of the year, Mr Sullivan played down the impact it could have on staff turnover at the bank.
