HC-5 HC-5 Remuneration of Approved Persons
HC-5.1 HC-5.1 Principle
HC-5.1.1
The
investment firm licensee must remunerateapproved persons fairly and responsibly.January 2011HC-5.2 HC-5.2 Role of Board of Directors
HC-5.2.1
The Board of Directors must:
(a) Review theinvestment firm licensee's remuneration policies for theapproved persons , which must be approved by the shareholders;(b) Make recommendations regardingremuneration policies and amounts for specific persons to the whole Board, taking account of totalremuneration including salaries, fees, expenses and employee benefits; and(c) Remunerate Board members based on their attendance and performance.January 2011HC-5.3 HC-5.3 Standard for all Remuneration
HC-5.3.1
Remuneration (including incentives, bonuses and other rewards) ofapproved persons must be sufficient enough to attract, retain and motivate persons of the quality needed to run theinvestment firm licensee successfully, but theinvestment firm licensee must avoid paying more than is necessary for that purpose.January 2011HC-5.3.2
Where remuneration is structured so as to link rewards to corporate and individual performance, criteria should avoid excessive focus on short-term profitability measures, without due regard to the longer-term consequences of actions taken.
January 2011Alignment of All Staff Remuneration with Compliance with AML/CFT Requirements
HC-5.3.3
The performance evaluation and remuneration of senior management and staff of the
investment firm licensee must be based on the achievement of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) relevant to ensuring compliance with AML/CFT requirements as specified in Paragraphs FC-2.1.3 and FC-2.1.4.Added: April 2020HC-5.4 HC-5.4 Directors' Remuneration
HC-5.4.1
The review of
Directors ' remuneration must be a standing item on theinvestment firm licensee's Annual General Meeting agenda, and must be considered byshareholders at every Annual General Meeting.Directors ' remuneration (including pension and severance arrangements) and bonuses must be clearly disclosed in the annual financial statements.January 2011HC-5.4.2
Directors' remuneration should also comply with all applicable laws, such as Legislative Decree No. 21 of 2001, with respect to promulgating the Commercial Companies Law.January 2011HC-5.4.3
Remuneration ofnon-executive directors must not include performance-related elements such as grants of shares, share options or other deferred stock-related incentive schemes, bonuses, or pension benefits.January 2011HC-5.5 HC-5.5 Senior Management Remuneration
HC-5.5.1
Remuneration ofsenior management must be structured so that a portion of the total is linked toinvestment firm licensee and individual performance and aligns their interests with the interests of the shareholders.January 2011HC-5.5.2
Such rewards may include grants of shares, share options and other deferred stock-related incentive schemes, bonuses, and pension benefits which are not based on salary.
January 2011HC-5.5.3
If a
senior manager is also a director, hisremuneration as asenior manager must take into account compensation received in his capacity as a director.January 2011HC-5.5.4
All share incentive plans must be approved by the shareholders.
January 2011HC-5.5.5
All performance-based incentives should be awarded under written objective performance standards which have been approved by the Board and are designed to enhance shareholder and company value, and under which shares should not vest and options should not be exercisable within less than two years of the date of award of the incentive.
January 2011HC-5.5.6
All policies for performance-based incentives should be approved by the shareholders, but the approval should be only of the plan itself and not of the grant to specific individuals of benefits under the plan.
Amended: January 2012
January 2011