Barclays Bank of Kenya chief executive Jeremy Awori earned a total of Sh89.5 million in the year ended December, the lender has disclosed in its latest annual report.
Mr Awori’s compensation rose marginally from Sh87.8 million the year before. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm says its remuneration policy emphasises risk control and takes into account expectations of shareholders and regulators.
The bulk of its executives’ compensation is in the form of deferred cash and shares in the Johannesburg-based parent company Barclays Africa Group to discourage departures and risky short-term strategies.
“Executive directors receive remuneration appropriate to their scope of responsibility and contribution to operating and financial performance, taking into account industry norms, external market and country benchmarks,” Barclays says in the report.
“The remuneration of executive directors consists of fixed and variable components that are designed to ensure a substantial portion of the remuneration package is linked to the achievement of the company’s strategic objectives thereby aligning incentives awarded to the creation of sustainable shareholder value.”
Mr Awori’s pay in the review period included a basic salary of Sh33.4 million or Sh2.7 million per month, pension and other benefits (Sh28.9 million), bonus (Sh18.6 million), cash award (Sh4.4 million) and shares (Sh4 million).
He is also scheduled to take up Barclays Africa shares worth Sh18.3 million and received another batch of shares in the parent company worth Sh55.1 million last year and which will vest in the medium term.
Barclays also disclosed that it paid its chief financial officer Yusuf Omari a total of Sh46.1 million in the review period, up from Sh38.4 million the year before.
Mr Omari was also awarded Barclays Africa shares worth Sh13.2 million last year. The two executives have permanent contracts.
Barclays and Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya have the most generous dividend payout policies among publicly traded banks.
Barclays’ total dividend of Sh1 per share for the year ended December amount to a payout of Sh78.4 per cent of the Sh6.9 billion net profit in the period. Their rivals retain more of their earnings, partly to fund their expansion in neighbouring countries.