Barclays hands US$63 million in stock to employees

“To align their efforts fully with our shareholder interests our colleagues need to participate in the ultimate outcome of their efforts: the change in our share price,” Venkatakrishnan said on a call with journalists after the bank’s earnings. “I have long felt that this type of alignment between shareholders and employees through equity participation strengthens business outcomes.”

Barclays’s stock has more than doubled in the last year as Venkatakrishnan embarked on a series of moves designed to boost the bank’s returns.

For the bank’s most senior staff, more of their pay will be tied to performance in future. Barclays and some of its rivals are making changes after the U.K. altered rules to allow a higher proportion of bankers’ remuneration to come from variable performance awards.

The company has proposed reducing Venkatakrishnan’s fixed pay by 46 per cent to almost £1.6 million, but he would now be able to earn a bonus that’s 2.5 times the size of his base salary — above the previous cap of two times. The changes are designed to address the fact that his pay has become “uncompetitive” with peers in recent years, Barclays said.