Directors' remuneration policy

The Group’s remuneration policy is to ensure that individual rewards are aligned with the Group’s performance and the interests of its shareholders, and that cost effective packages are provided which attract and retain executive directors and senior management of the highest calibre and motivate them to perform to the highest standards. The main principles, which remain unchanged from last year, are:

• FTSE 20 adopted as the comparator group used to benchmark overall competitiveness of the remuneration package whilst taking particular account of the remuneration practice of our direct competitors, namely the major UK banks. The FTSE 20 is regarded as providing a realistic and relevant comparison in terms of company size and sector, as well as being a key market for talent.
• Basic salaries positioned to reflect the relevant market median and total direct compensation (basic salary, annual incentives and the value of long-term incentives) designed to enable upper quartile performance to be rewarded with upper quartile remuneration levels.
• The majority of total compensation is linked to the achievement of stretching performance targets.
• The long-term rewards are aligned to shareholder interests, which is achieved by taking account of measures that reflect shareholder interests, and by expecting executive directors to build a shareholding in the Group equivalent to 1.5 times (2 times for the group chief executive) the directors’ base pay. Executives are expected to retain at least 50 per cent of all net vested equity until the guideline is met.
• The overall package reflects market practice and takes account of the terms and conditions applying to other employees of the Group.