SA banking body questions executive pay

Cas Coovadia, MD of the Banking Association of SA has questioned the sustainability of executives pay.

It comes in the wake of Standard Bank’s full-year integrated report which revealed that the bank’s co-CEOs Ben Kruger and Sim Tshabalala took home a combined salary of R57.5 million for the bank’s full year.

“I don’t think we can sustain a situation where a corporate makes a loss or has flat results and the executive remuneration rises,” Coovadia told Bloomberg in interview at the World Economic Forum in Abuja, Nigeria.

“I think a link between performance and executive remuneration needs to be clearer.”
Coovadia told Bloomberg that the banking body would begin talks with its members on the matter of executive pay.

“Given the context in South Africa, there’s no doubt, even if it’s just optically, that it creates a problem,” said Coovadia. “In the long term, it’s just not sustainable.”

Standard Bank’s Kruger and Tshabalala each saw a 60% increase in total salary for the role of CEO at the bank in 2013.

In early April, both Nedbank and Absa bank released their integrated reports for the 2013 financial year, revealing a 72% pay boost for Absa’s Maria Ramos, and and 13.2% jump for Nedbank’s Mike Brown – who remains the highest paid banking CEO in SA.

Former FNB CEO, Michael Jordaan – who stepped down from the position at the end of 2013 – pocketed R22.1 million in 2013, up 29.2% from R17.089 million in 2012.

Banking CEO salaries, 2013 (2014, Capitec) in ZAR millions

SA banking CEO salary increase/decrease, 2011 – 2013 (ZAR millions)

More on executive pay in SA

What SA’s banking CEOs earn

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Which banking CEO earns the highest salary?

Are banking CEOs paid their worth?