This is why HSBC stripped out £890m of costs last year
HSBC has revealed it stripped out $1.2bn dollars (£890m) worth of costs last year after cutting back its senior management team, as it hiked bonuses for staff by 10 per cent.
The global banking giant has been embarking on a sprawling simplification programme that has involved big changes to its structure, in a bid to become more “agile”.
It previously set a target to make $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in annual cost reductions by the end of 2026, under the leadership of chief executive Georges Elhedery.
But on Wednesday, the bank revealed that it is expecting to achieve this by the end of June – six months ahead of schedule.
It follows some $1.2bn (£890m) worth of cost savings being found during 2025 alone. Mr Elhedery, who stepped into the top job in 2024, said that a large amount of the savings had come from the “deduplication” of jobs within the group, particularly among more senior positions. He said this resulted in a net 15 per cent reduction of managing director positions, which has not had any impact on the group’s revenues. Meanwhile, HSBC revealed that it handed out bonuses worth $3.9bn (£2.9bn) to its eligible staff during the year – a 10 per cent increase compared with 2024. The bank said it ensured its “highest performers had the strongest variable pay outcomes compared to the prior year”.
Mr Elhedery took home a pay packet of £6.6m in 2025, made up of his salary and benefits, plus an annual bonus and long-term incentive award of about £4.8m. HSBC’s pay committee said it intends to grant the chief executive the maximum long-term incentive award worth 600 per cent of his salary, which amounts to £9m, for 2026-28. The value will be subject to the bank’s performance over the next three years, and delivered in instalments. HSBC said it was striving to create a “high-performance culture” where staff are better rewarded for work that boosts the performance of the bank.
Nevertheless, it reported lower earnings for 2025, with its pre-tax profit down about 7 per cent year-on-year to $29.9bn (£22.1bn). This took into account the impact of losses related to its stake in the Chinese Bank of Communications, and restructuring costs from its simplification programme.