FCA execs have bonuses deferred due to delayed London Capital & Finance investigation
The Remuneration Committee has decided that performance bonuses awarded to voting members of the Executive Committee should be deferred until the report of the investigation has been issued.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today posted its Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20, revealing that some performance bonuses will be deferred as a result of the delayed investigation into London Capital & Finance (LCF).
As FinanceFeeds has reported, the deadline for the report by Dame Elizabeth Gloster has been pushed until Monday, 23 November 2020.
During the period under review, from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, the SMR (Senior Managers Regime) Directors were eligible to be considered for a performance-related award up to a maximum of 35% of average base salary applying during the previous year, the FCA explains. Non-executive directors were not eligible to be considered for an award. Performance bonus decisions are made by the Remuneration Committee in February each year.
During 2019, following a request from the FCA Board, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury directed the FCA to carry out an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collapse of London Capital & Finance plc (LCF).
This investigation is ongoing and, as a result, the Remuneration Committee has decided that performance bonuses awarded to voting members of the Executive Committee in respect of the year under review should be deferred until the report of the investigation has been issued. The Committee will then decide whether it is appropriate for the bonuses to be paid at all, in whole or in part.
The Remuneration Committee has also agreed to change the way that performance bonuses will be paid in future for Executive Directors.
For example, Christopher Woolard, who was appointed as interim Chief Executive on 16 March 2020, was awarded a total performance bonus of £34,200, for 2019/20. The bonus has been divided to reflect his time as an Executive Director and his time as Interim Chief Executive. For the period as Executive Director from 1 April 2019 to 15 March 2020 the total performance bonus equates to £32,622, normally payable in March 2020 but deferred pending the outcome of the LCF review.
For the period of interim Chief Executive from 16 March 2020 to 31 March 2020 the performance bonus equates to £1,578, payable in two instalments as follows: £631 (40%) normally payable in March 2020, and the remaining £947 (60%) payable at the discretion of RemCo in April 2021. The total amount of £34,200 is held in deferment pending the outcome of the LCF review.
