Basel Committeeon Banking Supervision

Range of Methodologies
for Risk and Performance
Alignment of
Remuneration
May 2011

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Contents
Executive summary ..................................................................................................................1

1.

A.

Background and mandate ......................................................................................1

B.

Nature and objective of this report .........................................................................2

C.

Key findings/observations on practices to align risk and remuneration as of
mid-2010 ................................................................................................................3

D.

Identified issues affecting the effectiveness of risk alignment methodologies .......4

E.

Conclusion .............................................................................................................8

General issues ................................................................................................................91.1. Role of prudential regulation in risk alignment of remuneration .............................91.2. Conditions for effective risk alignment methodologies ...........................................91.3. Main components of risk adjusted remuneration .................................................11
1.3.1. Performance measures...............................................................................11
1.3.2. Risk adjustments.........................................................................................11
1.3.3. Award process ............................................................................................121.4. Scope of application.............................................................................................121.4.1. Institutions...................................................................................................121.4.2. Employees ..................................................................................................121.5. Proportionality in the application of the rules .......................................................13
1.5.1. General observations..................................................................................13
1.5.2. Proportionality between institutions ............................................................14
1.5.3. Proportionality within institutions.................................................................16

2.

Inputs for the determination of remuneration ................................................................18
2.1. Performance measurement..................................................................................18
2.1.1. Types of performance measures ................................................................18
2.1.2 Framework for assessment of performance ...............................................20
2.2. Incorporating risks in the remuneration process ..................................................212.2.1. Completeness of risk capture .....................................................................212.2.2 Level of risk measurement within the firm...................................................222.2.3. Balance between performance and risk adjustments .................................222.2.4. Balance between ex ante and ex post adjustments....................................23
2.3. The award process...............................................................................................25
2.3.1. Top-down vs. bottom-up .............................................................................25
2.3.2. Funding .......................................................................................................26
2.3.3. Allocation ....................................................................................................27

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

3.

Ex ante risk adjustments............................................................................................... 29
3.1. General comments .............................................................................................. 29
3.2. Quantitative risk adjustments .............................................................................. 29
3.2.1. Funds transfer pricing adjustments ............................................................ 30
3.2.2. Valuation Adjustments ............................................................................... 31
3.2.3. Specific quantitative risk adjustments ........................................................ 31
3.2.4. Soundness of the quantitative risk adjustments......................................... 33
3.3. Specific qualitative risk adjustments.................................................................... 33
3.3.1 Specific qualitative risk adjustments .......................................................... 33
3.3.2. Soundness of the qualitative ex ante risk adjustments .............................. 35

4.

Deferral and ex post risk adjustments .......................................................................... 36
4.1. Overview of the deferred remuneration process ................................................. 36
4.1.1. Supervisory and Regulatory Interest in Deferred Remuneration ............... 36
4.1.2. A stylised example of a deferral scheme ................................................... 36
4.2. Methods to adjust remuneration to outcomes ..................................................... 37
4.2.1. The types of ex post risk adjustment.......................................................... 37
4.2.2. Designing a risk adjusted deferred remuneration scheme ........................ 38
4.3. Specific issues..................................................................................................... 42
4.3.1. Upward adjustments of deferred remuneration.......................................... 42
4.3.2. Golden “handshakes”................................................................................. 42
4.3.3. Tax and legal frameworks .......................................................................... 42

Annex 1: Institutional coverage of FSB principles.................................................................. 44
Annex 2: Terminology ............................................................................................................ 46
Annex 3: Scorecards for the assessment of risk adjustments ............................................... 49
Annex 4: Case Study – Large Wholesale Bank ..................................................................... 52
Annex 5: Members of the SIG Task force on Remuneration ................................................. 54

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Range of Methodologies
for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Executive summary
A.

Background and mandate

1.
In April 2009 the Financial Stability Board (FSB) 1 published nine principles for theachievement of sound compensation practices for financial institutions, the aim of which wereto ensure effective governance of compensation practices, alignment of compensation withprudent risk-taking, effective supervisory oversight and stakeholder engagement. The
principles also aim to redress deficiencies in compensation practices that contributed to theglobal financial crisis that began in 2007. The FSB called for urgent action to address
unsound compensation practices. Subsequently, in September 2009 the FSB introduced aset of standards that were designed to support the implementation of the principles. These
were supplemented in January 2010 by an assessment methodology prepared by the BaselCommittee on Banking Supervision 2 to assist prudential supervisors in taking action.
2.
Following a Peer Review of the implementation of its Principles for Sound
Compensation Practices and Implementation Standards 3 conducted in the first quarter of2010, the FSB noted that good progress had been made in areas related to governance,oversight and disclosure, but that further work was needed to raise the standard of risk
adjustment to remuneration. Ensuring that performance-based compensation is adjusted toaccount for potential risks is essential to the successful implementation of the FSB
remuneration principles and standards.
3.
Given the competitive challenges in the industry and also the practical issues faced
by institutions, the FSB noted in its peer review report that “supervisors (…) should support
at the technical level the development of sound practices on risk adjustment” and accordingly
made the following recommendation:
Recommendation 7: “The Basel Committee should develop for consultation by theend of October 2010 a report on the range of methodologies for risk andperformance alignment of compensation schemes and their effectiveness in light ofexperience to date. It should cover the following areas:(i)methods for incorporating risk and performance into bonus pool andindividual compensation;

1

Then known as the Financial Stability Forum.

2

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision provides a forum for regular cooperation on banking
supervisory matters. It seeks to promote and strengthen supervisory and risk management practices globally.
The Committee comprises representatives from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France,
Germany, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom andthe United States. The Committee’s Secretariat is based at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel,
Switzerland.

3

Financial Stability Board Thematic Review on Compensation – Peer Review Report (30 March 2010)

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

1

(ii)

the design of deferred compensation, such as adequate performancemeasures; the relation between performance measures and ultimate valueof deferred compensation instruments; malus triggers; the sensitivity of
payout schedules to the time horizon of risks; and the funding of deferrals;
and

(iii)

proportionality in the application of rules, taking into account the size andcomplexity of the institutions, business models and risk tolerance.

This report could be used as a basis for guidance.”

B.

Nature and objective of this report

4.
This report responds to recommendation 7 of the FSB Peer Review Report oncompensation. Accordingly, it analyses and discusses the methodologies used by institutions
to adjust remuneration to risk and performance. 4 In line with the FSB Principles on Sound
Compensation Practices and their related implementation standards, the adjustment of
remuneration to risk and performance is a key element to reduce incentives for excessiverisk-taking in banks. Therefore, the main objectives of this report are to present (i) someremuneration practices and methodologies that support sound incentives and (ii) the
challenges or elements influencing the effectiveness of risk alignment that should beconsidered by banks, when developing their methodologies, and supervisors, whenreviewing and assessing banks’ practices.
5.
This report is primarily of a technical nature and is not intended to be prescriptive. It
intends to enhance banks’ and supervisors’ understanding of risk-adjusted remuneration.
The Committee expects that this report, by providing some clarification on the design of riskadjusted remuneration schemes, could support and facilitate the greater adoption of soundpractices in the banking sector and eventually, the convergence towards best practices inline with the objectives of the Basel Committee.
6.
The main inputs for this report are the observations recently made by supervisors
within their review of banks’ remuneration practices. The range of methodologies presented
in this report thus reflects supervisory experience to date and helps to provide arepresentative, though perhaps still incomplete, picture of the current state of remuneration
practices.
7.
Examples of banks’ practices are included to illustrate possible approaches toaligning remuneration and risk, as well as to focus on particular issues that deserve attention
as they may reduce the effectiveness of the risk adjustment process. The examples
presented should not be considered as models that could simply be copied by otherinstitutions as any methodology which is adopted needs to be tailored to the firm’s specificcharacteristics and nature.
8.
A sound methodology for adjusting remuneration relies on several complementarycomponents and involves a process with multiple and often complex steps. These various
elements (design of the remuneration scheme, performance measurement, ex ante and ex
post adjustments, deferral, award process) are analysed separately in this report to betterlink the identified technical and detailed issues with practices.

4

While not always explicitly mentioned, this report focuses in practice on the adjustments to the variable part of
the remuneration paid to employees.

2Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

9.
The report uses a specific terminology concerning remuneration, which is detailed in
Annex 2. For the sake of consistency and to facilitate the comprehension of this report,
please refer to that annex.

C.

Key findings/observations on practices to align risk and remuneration as of
mid-2010

10.
The following elements present an overview of current practices on the main
dimension of risk alignment that is further detailed in the report. This overview reflects thediversity of practices and the fact that they are often at an early stage and evolving.
Performance measurement and award process
11.
Most firms have performance measurement frameworks in place to assess theachievements of the firm as a whole, its business lines and organisational units as well as
individual employees. In order to maximise the incentive to deliver adequate performanceand to take into account any risks of the business activities, some firms closely link
remuneration outcomes with performance and risk outcomes. Firms also have madeprogress in tailoring performance and risk measures to the specific activities and roles of theorganisational units and the responsibilities of employees aiming for a performance and risk
capture that is as complete as possible.
12.
Firms often use a wide combination of financial and non-financial metrics to assess
employee performance, and construct highly tailored “indices” to reflect unique individual or
corporate activities. The extent to which the performance measures used are appropriate tocapture the risks taken and the risks outcome varies across institutions.
13.
Measures of financial performance, such as targets based on revenue, profit orincome, cash flow or return on equity, are still frequently used for performance measurement.
Measures used are often accounting-based and retrospective. Virtually all firms employ a“management accounting” framework which maps firm-wide financial measures to internalorganisational units. Many firms also rely on market based performance measures such as
share price, particularly in the case of senior management. Such measures rarely capture
the full range (or any) of risks that employees’ activities pose for the firm.
14.
More and more firms tend to use economic efficiency measures in their performancemeasurement process, such as risk-adjusted return on capital (RAROC). Other frequently
used measures include economic profit, risk-adjusted cost of funding (where the risks of a
specific activity are directly priced into the cost of capital) or pure accounting adjustments(such as provisioning for future expense). These measures might be used directly to assess
risk-adjusted performance or as driver to apply risk adjustment in the award process.
15.
In addition, performance is also measured using non-financial measures such ascompliance with internal controls, teamwork or other more qualitative criteria aimed atassessing the non-financial contributions of the employee.
16.
For the operational implementation of a performance and risk aligned remuneration
process, most firms use “bonus pools” that represent one or more intermediary steps
between the employee’s individual remuneration and the total remuneration at the level ofthe institution. Therefore, performance measures and risk adjustment may be considered
and applied at various levels, when determining remuneration pools and/or allocations to theemployees.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

3

Ex ante risk adjustments
17.
Ex ante adjustments are applied before a remuneration package is awarded and“discount” an award for risk. Ex ante risk adjustments to remuneration can be quantitative or
qualitative. Quantitative risk adjustments often address funds transfer pricing and valuation.
Increasingly, firms are implementing specific adjustment measures, often capital-related(such as RAROC) as well as charges related to liquidity usage. To a large extent, institutions
use metrics and risk measures already existing in the institution and previously developed forother internal purposes.
18.
A critical issue, in addition to the quality of the risk measure and adjustment
process, is the comprehensiveness and scope of risk adjustments. Some firms use morethan one quantitative measure to reflect the risks incurred in their overall business model asa variety of quantitative measures considered together may be required to address the manyrisks undertaken by a business.
19.
Banks also often make qualitative risk adjustments, in particular where difficulties
are experienced in finding reliable quantitative measures to cover all types of risk andactivities. When discretionary adjustments are made, an appropriate governance structure
tends to play a significant role.
Deferral and ex post adjustments
20.
As of mid-2010, most large international banks continued to feature a deferral period
and vesting schedule that is the same for all or almost all employees of the firm who receive
deferred remuneration, especially for employees below the senior executive level. That is,the duration of deferral periods and details of vesting schedules vary somewhat across firms,
but not much within firms. Moreover, the fraction of bonuses that is deferred tends to depend
formulaically on the employee’s total pay. Though deferred remuneration is often describedas helping to align risk-taking incentives, standardising the features in ways that do notdepend on risk calls into question whether firms are really paying attention to risk incentivealignment. 5
21.
Over the past couple of years, an increasing number of firms have instituted
clawbacks, but most clawbacks are triggered only when the firm learns that information
previously provided by an employee was misstated, or when the firm learns that theemployee had violated internal policies. Several firms are implementing explicit ex post risk
adjustments that make vesting dependent upon risk outcomes that occur during the deferral
period (sometimes known as “performance based vesting”). The details of the triggers thatcancel vesting vary quite a bit, but in the majority of cases the adjustments apply only tosenior executives, not to employees more broadly.

D.

Identified issues affecting the effectiveness of risk alignment methodologies

22.
The elements below summarise the main supervisory considerations expressed in
the report, corresponding to issues that could reduce the effectiveness of the remuneration
scheme or to criteria and factors that should be considered by banks, when developing their
methodologies, and supervisors, when reviewing and assessing banks’ practices.

5

Some exceptions exist. For example, some firms have separate “long term” and “short term” incentive plans,
and the details of deferrals often differ across the two types of plans within the same firm. However, at many
firms, “long term” plans are used only for a relatively small number of senior executives.

4

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

General considerations
23.
Variable remuneration serves several different purposes within banking
organisations and is notably used to attract and retain staff as well as to promote better
employee performance. It is important for supervisors to be aware of these other objectives
and to understand how they relate to the actual remuneration scheme used in a given
institution and how they have influenced its design.
24.
In order for incentives-based remuneration to work, the variable part of remuneration
should be truly and effectively variable and can even be reduced to zero, in line with thesymmetry principle defined by the FSB. In that respect, the balance between base pay (fixed
remuneration) and performance-based pay (variable remuneration), along with the actuallevel of the remuneration, appears to play a key role. For instance, for employees withaverage and lower remuneration, an excessive reliance on variable remuneration might inpractice prevent large downward adjustments of remuneration because the resulting totalmight be too small to support living expenses.
25.
While most of the attention in the wake of the crisis has been devoted to highly paid
employees, such as senior executives or traders, it is important to extend risk-adjusted
remuneration to all material risk-takers. These could be either individual employees orgroups of employees who may not pose a risk to the financial soundness of an institution on
an individual basis, but may present a material risk on a collective basis.
Proportionality
26.
In many jurisdictions, the FSB principles and standards have been applied more
widely than simply to systemically important financial institutions as initially envisaged by the
FSB. Proportionality applies both in the treatment of risk between institutions and also acrossdifferent areas or employees within an institution as different business lines and activities
might warrant different methods of risk adjustments and performance measurement.
27.
By definition, proportionality implies case-by-case implementation and no
standardisation, so its application will necessitate judgements by banks, when applying therules and adapting them to their specific characteristics and risk, and from supervisors, whenreviewing and assessing remuneration practices according to a risk-based approach. A keyelement that supervisors expect is the ability for banks to demonstrate that themethodologies they have developed to adjust variable remuneration to risk and performance
are appropriate to their specific circumstances.
Corporate governance and risk management
28.
To be effective, the risk adjustment process needs to be supported by strong
corporate governance and a culture of prudent risk-taking. The role and importance of theboard, and/or relevant board committees, to develop and implement remuneration policies –which produce a reasonable alignment between the risk faced by various parts of theinstitution – and the practical remuneration arrangements – which provide adequate andeffective incentives to its employees, are not the main focus of this report but should
nevertheless be considered as a key pre-condition for effective implementation.
29.
The performance measures and risk adjustments adopted by a firm should be linked
to the firm’s long-term risk appetite to ensure consistency of the remuneration process withthe firm.
30.
The methodologies for adjusting remuneration to risk and performance should also
be consistent with the general risk management framework and with the corporate
governance framework. For instance, embedding risk and performance measures in existing

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration5

accounting, risk and control frameworks result in more robust measurement and facilitate agreater role for internal control functions. However, the existing frameworks should also be
adequate to the task.
Risk and performance measurement
31.
Performance measures and their relation to remuneration packages should beclearly defined at the beginning of the performance measurement period to ensure theemployees perceive the incentives mechanism. The usual annual determination of bonuses
should be based on rules, process and objectives known in advance, recognising that somediscretion will always be needed.
32.
Firms should use a combination of financial and non-financial measures to assess
employee performance and adapt the measurement to each employee’s specific situation.
Qualitative factors (like knowledge, skills or abilities), might play an important role when it
comes to judging and rewarding some activities – particularly when these serve to reinforce
the firm’s risk management goals.
33.
The more measures used to assess performance do not include consideration ofrisks taken, the greater the need for risk adjustment. Several limitations have been observedin relation to the use of financial performance measures. These include the extent to which
future outcomes are captured, the integration and proper allocation of costs or losses, andthe use of income versus revenues.
34.
When measuring performance, a number of factors might contribute to make theperformance measurement system and the incentives it creates less likely to motivate
employees to take inappropriate risks. In this regard, the following issues have been noted:


The use of indicators like share prices (or similar external measures) may be
influenced particularly in the short term by various factors like market sentiment or
general economic conditions, not specifically related to firms’ or employees’ actions;

Relative performance measures may increase incentives to take more risk or may,under certain circumstances, reward failure by decoupling remuneration fromabsolute value generation;To have the greatest impact on employee incentives, the variables used to measurerisk and performance should relate as closely as possible to the level of thedecisions made by the employee. High level variables that measure theperformance of the firm as a whole may have limited impact on the risk-taking
decisions of individual employees;

However, high-level variables might be useful, at least until practices further
develop, to avoid current shortcomings or challenges associated with the allocationof risk and performance between business lines or for the measurement of new
business;

Relying fully on controls and risk mitigants when assessing risk might create
inappropriate incentives. An inherent measure of risk is probably preferable, at least
when it comes to identifying the risk takers; andDiscretion or judgement is often necessary when measuring risk and performance,
particularly for more qualitative assessments or hard to measure risks.
Transparency towards employees about how such discretion will be exercised would
help to strengthen the impact on incentives.

6

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Adjusting remuneration for risks
35.
The nature and extent to which risk adjustments are needed depends first on theextent to which performance measures capture risks, but in all cases, some form of risk
adjustment is needed as remuneration is often awarded before the final outcome of anactivity is known. Risks taken need to be estimated (ex ante) and risk outcomes observed(ex post), and both ex ante estimates and ex post outcomes should affect payoffs.
36.
Risk adjustments need to take into account the nature of the risks involved and thetime horizons over which they could emerge. The impact of remuneration adjustments should
be linked to actions taken by employees and/or business units, and their impact on the levelof risk taken on by the firm.
37.
In practice, a mix of ex ante and ex post adjustments will typically be needed as it
appears that one or the other better address some situations or risks. In particular:

For many activities, bad-tail risk (low frequency, high impact risk) is difficult tomeasure ex ante. Deferral could help reduce incentives to take such risks.

In the case of risks which are difficult to measure, to model or are simply not knownat the time of the award, deferral can be particularly useful because ex ante risk
adjustment is less likely to work effectively.



Deferral may not be fully effective in constraining the incentives of employees who
have the ability to expose the firm to extremely long-term risks, as these risks areunlikely to be realised during a reasonable deferral period. In such cases, ex anterisk adjustments become more important.

The effectiveness of deferral and ex post adjustments might vary according to an
employee’s role and seniority. Where the link between the individual actions of theemployee and the performance of the firm is greater, deferral is likely to be more
effective than for employees where the link is weaker. An effective malus linked tothe actions of the employee can increase the effectiveness of deferral for all
employees.

38.
Most of the challenges or limitations associated with ex ante risk adjustment relate
to the difficulty of measuring risk and of ensuring that risk adjustments are not overwhelmedby other considerations, such as a perceived need to pay bonuses at market levels
regardless of performance or risks taken. This difficulty is less important for ex post
adjustments because of the opportunity to observe actual risk outcomes. Nevertheless, evenex post adjustment poses challenges in identifying reliable risk measures and in applying
these over an adequate deferral period. In particular:Adequate time is needed to allow a proper observation and measurement of risk
outcomes. It is also important to ensure that deferred remuneration amounts relate
to business outcomes which may still be subject to uncertainty. As a result, deferredremuneration needs to be sufficiently delayed before vesting (for example 12months). If there is a need to vest parts of the deferred amount before the end of thedeferral period, such gradual vesting should occur slowly (ie at a yearly frequency).

The use of long term incentives may not be effective in cases where the employee
leaves a firm prior to the end of the performance measurement period. The same
applies to deferral if the unvested deferred remuneration is lost upon leaving the firm
and the new employer compensates the employee for such losses (a “golden
handshake”). This is because the employee escapes the effect of any performanceadjustments or ex post risk adjustments that would have occurred had the employee
stayed at the firm.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

7

Tax and legal issues impact the design of deferral plans and ex post adjustment,
and notably the use of clawbacks. While this makes remuneration models highly
specific to a certain jurisdiction, practice has shown that the underlying principles
can be achieved in most tax, legal and regulatory environments.



Deferral is more effective when deferred remuneration can only be adjusted
downward. Methodologies that allow increases of deferred remuneration, to reflect
for instance a lower level of losses observed than expected, may undo some or allof the effect on incentives of risk adjustment.

39.
When designing a remuneration package, the question of the relative proportion in
cash and equity instruments (like shares or options) is an important parameter. A key
question is the extent to which shares and similar instruments contribute to create
appropriate incentives. For purposes of affecting incentives, shares should be subject to atransfer restriction since they differ from cash only during the period when they are subject totransfer restrictions (given that unrestricted shares can be sold and converted to cash). Also,
the transfer restriction period should be sufficiently long, to ensure that appropriate incentives
are built and to truly differentiate it from a cash payment. However, transfer restriction should
not be seen as a substitute for deferral, as deferral permits malus to be applied.
Award process
40.
The nature of the award process, which links the variable remuneration of eachindividual employee with bonus pools and the total amount of variable remuneration at afirm’s level, is also an area that should be carefully considered by banks and supervisors, as
it directly influences how and when performance and risk adjustment are or can be used.
41.
The way bonus pools are determined and funded can have significant
consequences for employee incentives and also, more broadly, for the firm’s financial
soundness and its capital base. For example, under a top-down approach, the size of theemployee’s variable remuneration is dependent on his/her performance but also on theperformance of all superior levels and ultimately, on the overall firm’s performance.

E.

Conclusion42.
As shown in this report, work is still in progress. Remuneration practices andmethodologies continue to evolve. Although there is a substantial degree of diversity incurrent practices, some common trends have been identified. This report therefore presents
some initial supervisory considerations that correspond to issues that may hamper theeffectiveness of a remuneration scheme. It lists some factors that should be considered bybanks, when developing their methodologies, and by supervisors, when reviewing them. In
this way the report is intended to help promote the adoption by banks of sound remuneration
practices and to achieve a greater degree of consistency in the implementation of the FSB
principles.

8

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

1.

General issues

43.
Risk adjustment of performance-based remuneration 6 is the cornerstone of the FSB
Principles for Sound Compensation Practices and aims at limiting incentives for excessive
risk taking. To do this, financial institutions must ensure that their remuneration schemes are
consistent with their risk management and governance processes and, accordingly,
incorporate appropriate performance hurdles designed to reflect their risk management andgovernance objectives. When creating remuneration plans, a financial institution should
ensure that incentives to take risk are constrained by incentives to manage risk. The best
way to achieve this outcome is to vary performance-based remuneration according to risks
taken and risks realised.

1.1.

Role of prudential regulation in risk alignment of remuneration

44.
Financial institutions have long made extensive use of incentive-based remuneration
schemes to attract, retain and motivate staff. In addition, most financial institutions make also
use of their remuneration schemes to provide incentives to deliver greater levels of
performance. This has affected both the level and design of remuneration schemes offeredby financial institutions.
45.
In particular, many financial institutions make extensive use of variable, or
performance-based, remuneration schemes. Better performance by an employee against
predetermined objectives equates to greater financial rewards for the employee. Conversely,
mediocre or substandard performance by an employee will often deny the employee accessto a substantial proportion of the potential remuneration available to the employee.
46.
The way in which a remuneration scheme is designed can have a material impact
on prudent risk management. Indeed, where there is a misalignment between remuneration
hurdles and the risks taken on by an institution, this can severely undermine effective risk
management within a firm and put in place incentives for excessive risk-taking which havethe potential to materially impact financial soundness, as illustrated by several examples
during the recent financial crisis.
47.
It is the ability of remuneration arrangements to affect risk-taking behaviours that isof interest to prudential regulators. Matters which deserve close attention from prudential
regulators include: the manner in which remuneration arrangements are determined; theincentives these create; and the impact they have upon risk-taking behaviours and thecapital situation of a financial institution. The quantum of remuneration paid by a financial
institution to its staff is not normally an issue for prudential regulators; as long as
remuneration practices do not encourage imprudent risk taking and the firm can “afford” itsremuneration expenses in the long term from a capital and liquidity perspective, supervisors
have, in general, no particular position on the distribution of profits of a financial firm.

1.2.

Conditions for effective risk alignment methodologies

48.
In order to be effective, the various methodologies and techniques for adjusting
remuneration to risk and performance discussed in this report need to be supported by a

6

Remuneration, for this purpose, includes all kinds of benefits: not only fixed salary and bonus awards (either incash or share-linked instruments) but also all sorts of fringe benefits (including health insurance, pension
contributions, car, housing, education).

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

9

strong culture of risk alignment and effective corporate governance. They also need to beconsistent and integrated with risk management. 7
Embedding a culture of prudent risk taking
49.
The culture of an organisation sets an overarching framework for behaviours withinthat institution by establishing – both implicitly and explicitly – expectations about what is
acceptable. Remuneration and reward arrangements within a firm play a predominant role insetting and reinforcing its cultural norms. 8
Governing remuneration effectively
50.
The adoption of sound risk management policies and practices within a financial
institution is ultimately the responsibility of its board. An effective governance framework, set
by the board, is critical to achieving a risk-focussed culture within a financial institution. This,in turn, provides the foundation for the successful implementation of sound remuneration
practices across the firm.
51.
A well-functioning board will review and approve business strategies and significant
policies of an institution, including its remuneration arrangements. It will also satisfy itself thatan effective system of risk management and internal controls has been established andmaintained, and that senior management monitors the implementation of the risk
management framework. In keeping with this philosophy, while the board itself may only bedirectly responsible for senior executive employment contracts, it should ensure that an
appropriate system of oversight exists to ensure that performance-based remuneration ofsubordinate employees is in line with the institution’s board approved remuneration policies.
52.
The board should be supported in the design and operation of remuneration policies
and structures by a Remuneration Committee. The Remuneration Committee should be
responsible for making recommendations to the board on remuneration arrangements andensuring that the behavioural incentives associated with performance-based remuneration
are aligned with long term financial soundness and the risk management framework. Further,
the Remuneration Committee (or the RemCo) should also be responsible for deciding on themost appropriate technique for adjusting the performance measures for risk.
Aligning individual incentives with firms’ objectives
53.
Ultimately, the remuneration practices adopted by a firm should be integrally related
to its strategy and objectives – and these will cascade into individual business line objectives
and to objectives for individual employees. Ideally, the performance incentives adopted by afirm to further these objectives should be linked to the firm’s long-term appetite (or tolerance)
for risk.
54.
In establishing a risk-based remuneration framework, the starting point should be anassessment of the firm’s risk profile and its risk appetite (or tolerance). This assessment
should take into account all material risks and should differentiate between risks which affectthe institution as a whole and those which affect individual business lines. It should identify
the risk characteristics of the firm’s main business lines and the risk “bandwidths” within

7

In order to assess the adequacy of the governance structure with the remuneration adjustment process,supervisors could refer to the scorecard 1 in Annex 3.

8

Supervisors should also not lose sight of other employment practices, such as promotion practices, which canalso have a material impact on risk-taking behaviour.

10

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

which various categories of employees are to operate. Performance hurdles should bedesigned to reflect the risk-taking behaviours the firm seeks to encourage and dissuade
employees from taking actions outside the firm’s risk appetite/ tolerance.
Integrating the remuneration process in risk management
55.
The accuracy and reliability of the measures of performance and risks used play a
key role in the risk adjustment of remuneration and benefits from being developed withsuitable inputs from the risk management functions. More broadly, the methodology used for
adjusting remuneration benefits from being consistent with the general risk management
framework. This would notably facilitate the validation and/or the control of the measuresused and of the remuneration process as a whole.

1.3.

Main components of risk adjusted remuneration

56.
The process leading to the determination of risk-based remuneration for an
employee requires several components, which closely interact. These elements are
introduced below, in order to clarify their links, and are further discussed in the various partsof this report.
1.3.1.

Performance measures

57.
Performance measures play an important role for the variable part of remuneration
packages as the value of remuneration depends on some kind of performance. Ultimately,
performance can be defined as the degree to which the employee has achieved his
objectives. Because of that, performance measures are an essential tool to link remuneration
policies with both corporate strategy and the broader risk management framework.
58.
Both qualitative and quantitative performance measures should be considered.
While performance measures are normally focused on financial metrics, it is also importantthat financial institutions include non-financial metrics in developing the risk-based
remuneration hurdles.
59.
Finally, performance measures play a vital role in risk adjustment as they deliver the
input for such a correction, regardless if they are applied ex ante or ex post. In the case of ex
post application, performance measures can serve not only as clawback or malus triggers,
but are also embedded in the design of deferred remuneration plans. Incorporating risk
considerations in performance measurement can be achieved both by using risk metrics tocorrect measures which are not risk adjusted measures and also by employing metrics which
are adjusted for risk in the first place.
1.3.2.

Risk adjustments

60.
When creating remuneration plans, a financial institution should ensure thatincentives to take risk are constrained by incentives to manage risk. The best way to achieve
this outcome is to vary incentive-based remuneration according to risks taken (ex ante) andrisks realised (ex post). There are two points at which this can be done:ex ante - by adjusting remuneration for risk as it is accrued and awarded, to take
into account potential adverse developments in the future; orex post – by adjusting accrued remuneration during (eg through a malus clause) orafter (eg through a clawback clause) a deferral period in the light of experience andobservations of risk and performance outcome made.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

11

61.
Ex ante risk adjustments to remuneration are designed to reflect the level of risk
exposure being taken on by the firm at the time of underwriting, whereas ex post risk
adjustments are designed to incorporate risk outcomes after a reasonable deferral periodthat allows risks to materialise. Both methods rely on firms having in place reliable processes
to measure potential risk exposures and/or risk experience, and which are capable of “arm’s
length” verification.
62.
A main assumption underlying the principle of risk alignment of remuneration andmore broadly incentives-based remuneration, is that changes (and expected changes) in thevalue of the variable remuneration have an influence on the employee behaviour and his
decisions. In practice, this means that the variable remuneration is supposed to be truly
variable, that its amount is flexible and can even be reduced to zero in line with the symmetry
principle defined by the FSB. However, remuneration practices (ie the mix of base pay andperformance based pay) adopted for each category of employee can vary significantly. Thebalance between base pay (ie fixed pay) and performance-based pay (ie variable pay) might
contribute to reduce the effectiveness of incentives schemes when for instance the base pay
is not sufficient to make the variable remuneration genuinely discretionary or when thevariable part is too small. An appropriate pay mix is a key condition for ensuring that risk
adjustments can fully operate and influence risk-taking.
1.3.3.

Award process

63.
The award process is the determination of the individual variable remuneration foreach employee. Its design has a significant impact on how and when performance measuresand risk adjustments could be applied, as the remuneration process involves different level oflayers of assessment and management. A main challenge related to the design of the award
process is articulating the individual remunerations and the total remuneration at firm’s level.
This usually involves “bonus pools” on several levels of the firm’s organisation.

1.4.

Scope of application

1.4.1.

Institutions

64.
The FSB principles “are intended to apply to significant financial institutions, but they
are especially critical for large, systemically important firms”. 9 In practice, in many
jurisdictions, the FSB Principles and Standards are being applied more widely and may
therefore be applied to banks, insurance companies, fund managers and other institutions.
They can cover a wide range of smaller institutions, which are not necessarily internationallyactive. 10 While this report focuses on the application of the principles to banks, the questionof the application of the principles to very diverse banking institutions raise some
proportionality questions.
1.4.2.

Employees

65.
The FSB principles apply to those categories of staff whose professional activities
have a material impact on the bank’s risk profile, with the possibility of expansion to otherstaff where appropriate. These categories of staff should at least include:9

See the introduction of the FSB principles document.

10

Refer to Appendix 1 for a summary of the institutional coverage adopted by different countries in applying the
FSB principles and standards.

12

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration



Responsible persons (senior executives)



Risk and financial control personnelMaterial risk-takers (individual or collective)

66.
The first category of persons – ie the responsible persons – is meant to include all
persons who, because of their roles, have the capacity to make decisions that could
materially affect the interests of other stakeholders of an institution.
67.
Senior risk and financial control executives (eg the Chief Financial Officer and theChief Risk Officer) come within the category of “responsible persons” and should be treatedas above. However, other risk and financial control personnel also have a critical role to playin maintaining the financial soundness of an institution. They act as “gatekeepers” to ensurethat the business which is being written by the employees of an institution is in line with therisk appetite set by the board of the institution. Therefore, it is important that institutions
ensure that variable remuneration policies for persons in these roles do not compromise their
independence.
68.
The third category of persons captures those persons who receive a significant
portion of pay as performance-based remuneration. Even though these persons may notpose a risk to the financial soundness of an institution on an individual basis, they canpresent a material risk on a collective basis. Indeed, relatively low paid staff may pose just as
great a threat to prudent risk management, for example where the business line is organised
on a commission basis or where profit generation is the key performance metric, without any
offsetting risk mitigation requirements. Financial institutions need to have in place policies
and procedures to identify such arrangements, as well as control procedures to reduce andmitigate the risks arising from them.

Illustrative example of materiality considerations
Supervisors may decide to apply certain thresholds (eg annual bonus are less than acertain percentage, eg 10% or 20%, of total remuneration or bonus under X Euros), underwhich it is presumed that the employee’s decisions do not have a material impact on the
bank’s risk profile. Under those cases the supervisor may decide not to apply all FSB
principles and standards or only some of them (the latter being a case of proportionality).
Similarly, supervisors can leave the door open to institutions to explain why certain risktakers (employees belonging to the previous three categories) are not considered as“material” by the institution. For example, certain senior managers may indeed have a very
limited degree of discretion in the credit granting process (the approval process is highly
automated and the decisions are taken at higher levels). If the supervisor feels comfortablewith the explanations, they may decide not to require the accomplishment of all or some
FSB Principles and standards.

1.5.

Proportionality in the application of the rules

69.
Proportionality is a key principle to consider for the implementation and supervisionof the FSB Principles and Standards on Sound Compensation Practices.
1.5.1.

General observations

70.
A key rationale for proportionality is a proportionate relation between the benefit interms of the regulatory objective to the costs caused coming with regulatory requirements

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

13

and supervisory action. To the extent that the implementation remains in line with theobjectives and substance of the principles, the details can be adjusted.
71.
From the firms’ perspective, the implementation of the rules can be tailored to theinstitutions’ specific characteristics. From the supervisors’ perspective, proportionality implies
that the intensity of supervision will vary according to the particular risk characteristics of
those institutions. This corresponds in practice to risk-based supervision. It relies onsupervisors’ judgement and underlying knowledge of the risk profiles of the institutions theysupervise. Proportionality was in fact already identified by the Basel Committee as a key
principle to be applied when conducting supervisory reviews in its Compensation Principles
and Standards Assessment Methodology (see paragraph 6 of the methodology). As it relates
to the conduct of supervisory review and not directly to the design and operation of
methodologies to adjust remuneration to risk and performance, this issue of the
proportionality of the supervision is not further discussed in this report but it is expected thatsupervisors will adopt such an approach when assessing banks’ methodologies.
72.
Proportionality is a general principle which, for the reasons mentioned above (broad
scope of application and principle-based regulation), is expected to apply to all aspects of the
FSB principles, including the methodologies used by institutions to adjust remunerations torisk. In practice, it implies that the extent of risk-adjustment that needs to be incorporated into
remuneration plans should vary in accordance with the extent and significance of the risks
involved. It even appears to be particularly relevant for this as the methodologies developed
and used by institutions cannot generally be separated – and in fact should not be
separated – from the risk management framework and the governance framework of
institutions. It is thus closely related to the existing internal organisation, procedures, tools
and indicators.
73.
It is also important to consider that proportionality might also justify different
implementation of the rules within institutions/groups, as different business lines or activities
might require tailored implementation.
74.
Proportionality is a case-by-case situation, which will require judgements by banks
and supervisors. Institutions should be able to explain/justify choices made. Financial
institutions need to demonstrate that the practices they adopt to adjust variable remuneration
for relative risks are appropriate to the size and risk profile of their businesses.
1.5.2.

Proportionality between institutions

75.
Proportionality in the application of prudential standards and risk-based supervision
are related concepts that are determined by the application of similar factors. The following
factors need to be taken into account when considering proportionality:

Size and complexity of the institution

Business models

Risk tolerance76.
The extent of risk-adjustment that needs to be incorporated into remuneration plans
should vary in accordance with the extent and significance of the risks involved. A small
institution involved in a risky business might not be expected to have as sophisticated aprocess as a large institution, which would be expected to have a process that is stronger
than a small institution engaged in less risky business.

14

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Size and complexity of the institution
77.
Size and complexity of institutions is a key factor to apply the rules differently acrossinstitutions. Expectations of the level of risk adjustment, and the relative sophistication of themethods required to achieve it, should vary to fit the degree of risk involved.

Illustrative example
A large, internationally active bank offers a full range of financial services from retailbanking business through to a complete suite of wholesale banking services and funds
management. Variable remuneration is determined on the basis of an economic capitalmodel. Further, the bank is expected to adopt both ex ante and explicit ex post risk
adjustments that are appropriately aligned to risks. There must be a clear methodology forallocating variable remuneration from group level to business units and individuals.
Variable remuneration should include a substantial deferred component.
A small retail bank operates within the same jurisdiction and variable remuneration isdetermined by the bank’s return on equity. Some ex ante adjustments are applied at thepool level in the event of material adverse outcomes.
Observation: in both cases, the approach taken is adequate and commensurate with thebank’s size, complexity and risk profile.
78.

Examples of some implications of applying proportionality:The performance and risk measures used will generally reflect the tools available
within the institution. This allows for embedding remuneration considerations into thefirm’s management framework. Adjustments based on economic capital measures
can of course only be expected from institutions which have or should have in placesuch frameworks.



The composition (mix of cash and shares or share-linked instruments) of variable
remuneration might be influenced by the nature of the institution, independent of risk
and incentives consideration. This may be notably applicable for mutual/cooperativebanks or for publicly owned institutions.



The size and relative complexity of some institutions might not warrant a
remuneration committee. Here, alternative arrangements may be in place to ensure
a sound governance process on compensation matters.

Business models
Different business models may justify different implementation across institutions as well as
within institutions.
(i)

Level of risks

79.
The potential impact and frequency of risks to which banks are exposed varies frombusiness line and by bank. The way in which employees of a particular business line are
remunerated can have a significant bearing on the level of risk that is ultimately taken on bythat business. For example, direct off- or on-balance sheet exposures written on acommission basis will typically give rise to a much greater degree of risk than a fee-forservice business, such as the provision of financial advice. It is essential that risk
adjustments to remuneration be tailored to match the risk profile and risk appetite ofindividual financial institutions. These adjustments need to take into account the nature of therisks involved and the time horizons over which they could emerge.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

15

(ii)

Measurability of risks

80.
In addition to the level of risk, the type of business also influences the measurabilityof risk. This in turn affects the ease with which risk adjustments may be made toperformance measures and variable remuneration. Appropriate risk adjustments depend on
the ability to develop quantifiable performance measures as a first step. In some businesses,
such as traded market risk, these measures are more readily available and the next step –appropriate risk adjustments – can be undertaken. However, for businesses which rely moreheavily on qualitative measures, such as a risk management unit, the process ofquantification and therefore risk adjustment becomes more difficult. Nevertheless, this should
not dissuade businesses from adopting a qualitative approach when this is the most reliable
method available.
81.
Incentive-based remuneration schemes should be adapted to fit the time horizons
associated with risks in each business line so as to allow the performance which generates
the bonus payment to be validated. The scheme should make clear how incentive payments
will be managed from their calculation through to their accrual, validation and pay-out.

Example of a mid-sized bank
A mid-sized bank has separate business units for its corporate and retail credit products. A
profit share pool is allocated to both business units based on group performance. In
allocating variable remuneration to staff originating corporate loans, the bank considers theperformance of individual loans in addition to the overall performance of the loan portfolio
and the new business generated. For staff within retail loan origination, variable
remuneration is adjusted only on the basis of portfolio performance. Variable remuneration
for both divisions incorporates elements of deferral – up to three years for retail credit andthree to five years for corporate credit.
Observation: The performance measures and risk adjustments to variable remuneration
are different for each unit and have been tailored to reflect the differences in risk between
the business units.

Risk tolerance82.
The overall objective of the FSB principles and standards is to reduce incentives forexcessive risk taking by aligning risk and remuneration. However, to the extent that itremains prudent, the actual level of risk-taking deemed acceptable will vary acrossinstitutions, depending on the overall risk tolerance of those firms. As a result, there could besome differences between two institutions having similar activities in the design of theirremuneration schemes as they could pursue different strategies and objectives.
1.5.3.

Proportionality within institutions

83.
Risk adjustments applied to each category of employee should be proportionate totheir overall responsibilities within the firm and their capacity to effect risk decisions within the
firm.

16

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Illustrative example
The Chief Executive Officer of a bank is eligible to receive variable remuneration equal toapproximately 50% of total remuneration. Performance measures are based on after tax
profits and earnings over and above the estimated cost of capital and other specificindicators such as risk management and strategic performance. Variable remuneration isdeferred for a period of three to seven years.
Within the same bank, employees whose primary role is risk and financial control are also
eligible to receive some variable remuneration, equal to approximately 10% of total
remuneration. Performance measures are based on the quality and integrity of controls
and decisions and the extent to which risk management is embedded within the bank.
Observation: The bank’s remuneration practices align variable remuneration with overall
responsibilities and the capacity to take risks that affect the bank as a whole.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

17

2.

Inputs for the determination of remuneration

84.
This chapter discusses key considerations in identifying and applying appropriate
performance measures and considers the risk adjustments and the award process.

2.1.

Performance measurement

85.
Performance measures are metrics and benchmarks which help assess progress
toward pre-determined goals, reflecting the efficiency with which resources are deployed, thequality of outputs (both quantitative and qualitative) and the outcomes that result. Properly
designed, performance measures can help align the interests of various stakeholders infinancial firms by translating strategic objectives into operational outcomes. Badly defined,
such measures can just as easily motivate undesirable behaviour, and ultimately contributeto the misalignment of risk and reward.
2.1.1.

Types of performance measures

86.
Different metrics provide different lenses through which performance is measured,each with unique costs and benefits. Measures can broadly be described based on thefollowing elements: quantitative and qualitative measures, absolute and relative measuresand internal and external measures.
Quantitative and qualitative performance measures(i)

Operating efficiency measures

87.
Operating efficiency measures are those related to targets for profit, revenue,
productivity, earnings or cost ratios. When used in isolation, they can expose firms tosignificant un-captured risk. For example, short-run measured profit can differ significantly
from actual long-run results where risk outcomes become clear only over time. The quality
and volatility of revenues as well as the likelihood and timing of their receipt can vary overwide time horizons. Likewise, performance might be measured by gross revenues or by
volume figures, such as mortgages sold, which do not take into account operational costs or
costs of capital and may only be loosely linked to net profitability. The use of such measures
can result in severe distortion between short-term profitability and long-term (risk-adjusted)outcomes and the performance assessment which is relevant for determining the
remuneration award. For example, an employee that is paid a commission based on thenumber of mortgage loans made, where each loan is priced the same, could increase unit
sales (and the employee’s remuneration) simply by making a greater number of riskier loans.
While this might be desirable from the employee’s perspective, it exposes financial
institutions to a high degree of “un-costed” risk.
88.
In general, firms should exercise caution when using operating efficiency measures
to benchmark performance as such measures rarely capture the full range of risks which
employees’ activities pose for the firm. However, depending on the actual role andresponsibilities of an employee, they may be adequate as part of the firm-wide performancemeasurement framework.
(ii)

Economic efficiency measures

89.
Economic efficiency measures assess revenue and earnings against the capitalsuch activities absorb and hence have the potential to take into account at least on a partial
basis the extent of risk such activities pose. Economic capital is a component of other wellknown measures such as internal economic risk capital, net economic contribution or riskadjusted return on capital which are often used in practice. Other frequently used economic

18

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remunerationefficiency measures include economic profit, risk-adjusted cost of funding (where cost ofcapital results in a direct charge in a risk adjusted performance income statement) or pureaccounting adjustments (such as provisioning for future expense).
90.
When quantitative measures are based on future outcomes or projections, model
errors and false assumptions may severely impact the quality of such assessments. It may
therefore be necessary to include discretionary corrections. For example, if a firm uses
quantitative cost-of-capital and liquidity measures to risk adjust a profit-and-loss measure, it
may also apply discretion to compensate for model error. However, while such corrections
may be subjective to a certain degree, they must not be arbitrary. It is generally expectedthat in cases where discretion is utilised, it should be accompanied by a set of policies andprocedures. In any case, firms should be able to explain the rationale behind suchdiscretionary adjustments.
(iii)

Qualitative Performance Measures

91.
For some work functions (such as back office), quantitative output measures may beless appropriate and qualitative performance indicators such as compliance with risk control
measures or skills such as teamwork may take on more significance. Such measures may
only be weakly related to risk outcomes, but many businesses emphasise what is sometimes
called “the how” in performance measurement schemes as an additional element todifferentiate performance. Whether employees are able to work across business lines, ordemonstrate leadership can be as important to corporate success and future profitability as
retrospective measures of financial performance. Qualitative measures can also address
issues related to compliance (such as adherence to limits, audit results or self-assessments),
or intangible factors such as use of judgment (eg provision of information or identification andescalation of material risks to relevant personnel). To ensure qualitative factors are usedeffectively in measuring performance, they need to be clearly defined and communicated.

Examples of qualitative factors used by the industry

The franchise nature of the employee’s business (client oriented businesses arefavoured over proprietary trading);Quality of Revenues (businesses with large illiquid risks appear to be discounted
qualitatively in addition to the quantitative liquidity charges);

Performance appraisals from managers and colleagues;Resources and behaviours used to achieve the results;Teamwork

Individual employee compliance with controls or adherence to the rulesTrack record / multiple years of performance

Absolute and relative measures
92.
Absolute performance measures take into account only the firm’s own indicators of
performance, based on the firm’s risk profile and strategy. Consequently, they are adequate
for assessing long term performance of the employee, since they ensure there is analignment with the firm’s long term incentives. However, they may prove less effective for
new entrant firms, since no guidance exist to what absolute level they should be set in orderto provide the right incentives (ie there is a need to calibrate with peers in these cases).

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

19

93.
Relative performance measures compare performance with a benchmark. Examples
include an “internal” one (ie other internal business lines or co-workers), an internal budget or“external peers” (ie more on a firm wide or business line level). Relative performancemeasures produce incentives to outperform peers and motivate higher performance. They
are therefore often used for management and human resources purposes to differentiate
between employees. However, relative benchmarks may result in sub-optimal absoluteperformance, if the only standard is that peers perform worse. It is also possible that relative
performance measures may encourage “herd mentality”, in which firms and/or employees
have an undue tendency to mirror peers’ behaviour to stay close to their benchmark. If thesame relative measures are widely used, this could have procyclical consequences for the
global financial system.
Internal and external measures
94.
Besides internal measures (like operating or financial measures), firms frequently
rely on market measures like market capitalisation (eg share price), especially in the upper
levels of the firm’s hierarchy. Such external measures may be adequately linked with thefirm’s objectives (eg to boost the firm’s market capitalisation and shareholder return), butthey are also often significantly driven by market sentiment as well as other external factors,
particularly in the short term. They are as such not necessarily correlated with the internal
value generation of a firm. Hence, such external measures have to be used with care as they
may be not suitable to provide effective incentives. Furthermore, lower hierarchy levels areeven less involved to direct their efforts towards external performance measures that theycannot influence by their own behaviour, therefore weakening the linkage between incentives
and remuneration.
2.1.2

Framework for assessment of performance

Linking performance measures and objectives
95.
The definition of performance measures is closely linked with the strategy andobjectives for the firm as a whole, its business lines and, eventually, all employees. Ideally,
performance measures can be derived directly from these objectives, as they measure towhich degree an objective has been met. The measures and their relation to the ultimate
value of remuneration packages should be clearly defined at the beginning of theperformance measurement period, as well as the extent to which discretion in the allocation
process can be used. Indeed, not being clear about the performance measurement andhaving to adapt already determined approaches within or at the end of the assessment
period can break the link between objectives and remuneration and lead to inappropriate
incentives or, worse, to rewarding failure.
Combining performance measures
96.
As mentioned above, performance metrics can take the form of either financial or
quantitative measures or non-financial or qualitative measures. In many cases, accountingbased measures of financial performance serve as the starting point of the performanceassessment. However, such metrics are rarely used in isolation. Firms often complement
quantitative benchmarks with inputs that are more qualitative in nature, using a wide
combination of financial and non-financial metrics to assess employee performance, andconstruct highly tailored “indices” or “scorecards” to reflect unique individual or corporate
activities. Measures can utilise overlapping time periods (to reduce incentives to maximise
performance in any one period), or be weighted to allow for differential prioritisation ofoutcomes. They can be long or short-term in focus. The combination of different metrics
might also contribute to reduce the risks of fraud or gaming of the measures.

20

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Consistent design and implementation across the firm
97.
The actual performance measures may differ widely within a firm. A measure (or setof measures) suitable for assessing the results of the overall firm or its top management may
not be appropriate to evaluate an employee at lower or middle levels of the hierarchy (ie one
who has a narrower perspective and only a relatively small influence on the firm’s overall
performance). Hence, performance measures need to be tailored to match the objectives of
the unit to be assessed. This has to happen in a way that ensures consistency across thewhole firm. Otherwise, single business lines and employees have incentives to pursue goals
not in line with the firm’s business and risk strategy. The design of the award process is key
to ensure the consistency of the various firm’s remuneration decisions.

2.2.

Incorporating risks in the remuneration process98.
In general, but particularly when performance measures are not risk-based, riskadjustments are necessary to ensure that appropriate incentives are created.
2.2.1.

Completeness of risk capture

Capturing all types of risks
99.
Risk measurement should be comprehensive and address known financial risks (egmarket, credit and liquidity), as well as non-financial risks (eg legal, reputational andcompliance risks) and other operational risks. 11
Capturing risk within institutions
100.
All complex institutions operate in frameworks where transfer of risk between
business lines is common. When assessing the performance of business lines, the firm has
to make sure that the risks are appropriately captured at the relevant level of hierarchy andthat risk transfer mechanisms do not let risks “vanish” out of the scope of the responsible
units. This issue might be dealt with using appropriate measures or risk adjustments, taking
into account the nature of the award process.

Examples of risk capture issues within groups
All material risks created by and inherent to a business are expected to be appropriately
captured in the performance measurement scheme applied to the business. Examples offailures to do so:-

A division of a large company routinely sells credit insurance in the form of credit
default swaps (CDS) on fixed income securities. However, the internal performancemeasurement process for the division excludes the revaluation of the CDS but
includes the premium income received. As a result, the division is effectively paid tosell CDS and the firm is exposed to material risk on these contracts - but no one isaccountable for managing that risk.

-

A large financial firm measures the performance of its capital markets division usinga fair value total return function. However, it decomposes the numerator of that11

In order to assess the comprehensiveness of the risk capture and of corresponding measures and risk
adjustments, supervisors could refer to the scorecard 2 in Annex 3.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

21

return into the portions driven by the key risk factors of the business – interest rates,interest rate volatility, credit spread risk and net interest income. It then removes
credit spread risk from the return calculation. As a result, the firm is exposed tosignificant credit spread risk and the business unit is motivated to assume more ofthis risk to maximise net interest income. However, no one is incentivised to manage
the credit performance of the assets.

Measure of inherent vs actual risks
101.
In considering risk, it is important to utilise measures of inherent, rather than residual
risk, where inherent is meant to indicate the magnitude of risk prior to the application of
corporate controls, at least when it comes to identifying risk takers.
2.2.2

Level of risk measurement within the firm

102.
To have the greatest impact on employee behaviour, the variables used to measurerisk and performance should be as close as possible to the level of the decisions made by
the employee that is subject to the risk adjustment. For example, for senior executives, it isgood practice for institutions to design the remuneration schemes to include financial metrics
based on the performance of the entire firm, or for performance and risks of units or
decisions that were determined by senior executive strategy. In contrast, variables for alending officer could be the performance of loans originated or monitored by that person.
Variables for the leader of a business unit ideally would be for performance and risk of that
unit.
103.
It is an open question whether high-level variables, like the performance of the firm
as a whole, should be among the drivers of risk adjustments for lower level employees. Firms
may wish to include such variables among determinants of bonus awards in order to promote
teamwork. However, it is not clear how effective such variables will be in changing risk-taking
behaviour when they are part of risk adjustments.
104.
A number of practical problems with variables are likely to confront designers of risk
adjustments. For example, where a business involves cooperation from several units, howshould performance and risk variables be used in adjustments for employees of the different
units? What if these variables are difficult to measure, for example in cases where thebusiness is new? It may be difficult to distinguish the extent to which individual business units
have contributed to a firm’s overall risk profile. Keeping track of performance and risk tiedclosely to each employee’s decisions to ensure that appropriate incentives exist may involve
large IT expenses. One way to reduce such problems is to use higher-level outcome
variables, for example business-line level variables for all employees of all business units inthe line. This reduces costs and complexity, but is also weakens the link between employee
incentives and outcomes because, for a large business line, most employees may feel theirown actions are not likely to affect outcomes for the line as a whole. Overall, a balanceneeds to be struck between taking a practical approach and achieving a clear assignment ofresponsibility for risk. Practice in this area is at an early stage, and designing risk
adjustments is likely to involve a lot of tradeoffs and experimentation over the next few years.
2.2.3.

Balance between performance and risk adjustments

105.
There is no point in time when all final outcomes related to firm performance are
known with certainty given the nature of ongoing operation of the firm. Risk has therefore to
be included in remuneration systems on an ongoing basis as well through either ex ante
and/or ex post adjustment to remuneration awards, depending on the kind of risks. The

22

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

necessity to risk-adjust remuneration is thus due to the fact that at the time the remuneration
award is granted, ultimate performance cannot be assessed without uncertainty.
106.
In addition, from a human resources or management point of view, performancebased remuneration is to a certain degree awarded to promote future performance, ie as
incentive to perform in future, and not only to compensate past performance, which could bereflected in the performance measures being used. It is thus important to know the extent towhich they are geared towards future developments as the usage of such measures implies
that ex post risk adjustments are required. The mix of backward- and forward-looking
performance measures also influences the mix of instruments and deferral decisions, assome instruments are more suited for ex post adjustments than others.
2.2.4.

Balance between ex ante and ex post adjustments

107.
Ex ante risk adjustments have the advantage of timeliness, having an immediate
effect on risk-taking behaviour. But, in the absence of sufficient time for the extent of risks
assumed to emerge, these measures often prove to be unreliable and their impact can often
be overwhelmed by short-term measures of performance.
108.
Ex post risk adjustments, on the other hand, have the advantage of enabling firms toreassess employee performance in the light of risk experience. Information about risk
outcomes can be used. This could include losses realised or errors in performance and risk
assessments during the accrual period (eg errors due to employee misstatements of risk as
such errors usually are discovered when risk outcomes are not as expected). By delaying
remuneration adjustments, the impact on risk-taking behaviours of ex post adjustments willbe less immediate than with ex ante adjustment, as employees may tend to discount thevalue of deferred remuneration. However, delay is a critical component of deferral and ex
post adjustments.
109.
Indeed, in order to be effective and clearly different from ex ante adjustments,
deferred remuneration needs to be sufficiently delayed before the start of the vesting period.
A 12 month delay before vesting the deferred remuneration is started and then a yearly or
longer frequency for the vesting of the remaining amounts, as done by most institutions,should create appropriate incentives and ensure in most cases that risk outcomes can beeffectively observed.
110.
The effectiveness of deferral and ex post adjustments might vary according to theemployee’s role and seniority. Where it is already difficult for employees to see how they can
influence the short term performance of the firm as a whole, it is even more challenging forthem to see how they can impact long term performance of the firm as a whole. Still, forsome employees, this link is so clear that it can be individually expressed. For example,
because of their forward looking strategic role in the firm, long term performance measuresand deferral over a multiyear period are mostly seen for senior executives.
111.
For some business activities, risks do not generally persist beyond the current
period, thus reducing the potential need for ex post adjustment (or deferral). One example ofthis might be a spot foreign exchange trader who typically closes positions at the end of eachday, so end-year net profit is largely known. However, the long term impact of such activities
may be hidden, but should still be taken into account. For example, a foreign exchange
trader with no end-of-day positions could cause a loss on a single day which offsets the profit
of several months, but it could also, in the long run, have a material impact on the firm's
market risk position and use of liquidity resources and some operational, reputational orcompliance risks may still remain.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

23

112.
When designing risk adjustments, attention should also be paid to the capture andtreatment of bad-tail risks. For example, many firms use a cost of capital framework totranslate economic capital into its cost equivalent, adding a “surcharge” for estimated bad-tailrisk associated with given activities or positions. Such methods are a way to assess, ex ante,a surcharge for tail risks. However, for many activities, bad-tail risk is difficult to measure ex
ante, so reliable formulaic risk adjustments may be difficult to implement. Stress testing or
stressed measures might be used by banks in that context to help ex ante risk adjustments
take into account severe but plausible scenarios. However, since bad tail risk can be caused
by a wide variety of highly improbable scenarios, stress-based ex ante risk adjustments arelikely to fail to capture all such scenarios. Deferral methods with ex post risk adjustments
should in theory more accurately and comprehensively capture the true cost of such risks.
However, deferral methods may also fail to fully adjust for all such scenarios because
employees may expect that most such scenarios will not occur. It is therefore probably thecase that ex ante risk adjustments and deferral with ex post risk adjustments arecomplementary means of adjusting for bad-tail risks.
113.
Deferral practices can be used to address incentives associated with two kinds ofrisks. In the case of “ordinary” risks, meaning those that are reasonably well understood andfor which severity and time horizon can be assessed, the deferral period and vestingschedule should match the time profile of risk outcomes of the business or have a longer
profile, and ideally the ex post adjustments should be tightly linked to the risk outcomes. In
the case of unmeasured and unmodeled risks, the time profile of risk outcomes and theprecise nature of the outcomes may not be well understood. Deferral can be particularly
useful for such risks because ex ante risk adjustment is less likely to work well. However, thedeferral period should be relatively long and the vesting schedule should be back-loaded. It
may be necessary to make ex post risk adjustments depend on less granular measures ofrisk outcomes, such as the accounting results of the firm for senior executives or the resultsof the business unit for other employees.
114.
Ideally, the length of the time horizon of deferral should match the risks’ time
horizon, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the risk adjustment process (the outcomesneed to be observed and measured). However, such a situation is not always feasible. For
instance, deferral may not be effective in constraining the incentives of employees who havethe ability to expose the firm to extremely long-term risks, as these risks are unlikely to berealised during a reasonable deferral period. In such cases, ex ante risk adjustments would
be more important. For instance, for long-term loans like mortgage, it is unlikely that thedeferral period could extend up to the end of the loans, hence ex ante adjustments, liketaking into account the expected loss of the loans, might be appropriate.
115.
Clearly the better the quality of ex ante risk adjustments, the less will be the need for
ex post risk adjustment. 12 However, to date, ex ante risk adjustments have relied heavily on
subjective assessments of potential risks. Moreover, due to the uncertainty of payoffs, there
will always be a need for ex post adjustment so as to back-test actual performance against
risk assumptions. This suggests strongly that a mix of both approaches will typically beneeded. In either case, the impact of remuneration adjustments should be linked to actions
taken by employees and/or business units, and their impact on the level of risk taken on by
the firm.

12

When designing and applying ex post risk adjustments, the ex ante risk adjustments already applied have to
be considered to avoid any double counting of risks.

24

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

2.3.

The award process

116.
The award process ultimately results in the determination of the remuneration foreach employee. A key challenge of the award process is translating performance measuresto actual remuneration awards and defining at what level performance can be accurately
assessed and risk adjustment could be applied. Indeed, some performance measures andrisk adjustments cannot be directly attributed to a single employee. Furthermore, qualitative
performance criteria need to be mapped to the financial value of a remuneration package.
Finally, this must be done in a consistent manner throughout the whole firm.
2.3.1.

Top-down vs. bottom-up

117.
This section discusses two variations of the award process. While in practice theprocess is quite complex and includes various checks and balances as well as iterative
feedback and reconciliation steps, the award process can be classified into either a top-down
or a bottom-up process. Most firms employ a combination of a top-down and a bottom up
method. While primarily distributing the top-down performance of the company down thelines, a bottom-up approach is used to mitigate perceived imbalances and different
remuneration between business lines.
Top-down approach
118.
Under the top-down approach, the remuneration process starts at the top of theorganisation. In practice, this means “funding” the whole company’s bonus pool using theperformance criteria tied to the firm’s overall performance This firm-wide pool is thendistributed to the first-level units according to their own performance. The process continues
down the line to individual employee’s award. On each level, a different set of performancemeasures may be applied, considering the responsibilities and objectives of the units
evaluated. However, the size of the unit’s pool is not only determined by the unit’s
performance. Since the amount to be distributed is itself dependent on the allocations onsuperior levels, performance at those levels and, ultimately, the overall company’s
development, both performance and risk-wise, is indirectly taken into account. In turn, theapproach allows using more operational performance criteria on lower levels of the hierarchy
without losing the link to the overall performance. This is important especially for units whose
direct contribution to the company’s value added cannot be easily determined (eg risk
management, back-office functions).
Bottom-up approach119.
In a bottom-up approach, the bonus process starts at single employee level.
Depending on the performance criteria against which the employee is assessed, a bonus
allocation is made. The remuneration “pool” of an organisational unit is determined by thesum of remuneration awards on subordinated levels. A pure bottom-up approach has somepotential weaknesses. As it is only based on an individual’s achievements, the approach will
only consider overall corporate performance if the individual assessments adequately
capture overall performance when taken together and this is likely to be difficult to achieve.
As a practical matter, pure bottom up approaches are rare or non-existent, because virtually
every major bank must limit the overall amount of remuneration that is paid to a level to take
into account the related net revenues.
120.
A bottom-up approach may lead to incentive pay awards that are overly influenced
by the pay levels of competitors, leaving the determination of remuneration levels primarily tomarket forces. In such cases, the influence of risks taken is too weak.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

25

121.
The bottom-up component of an award process often leads to cross-subsidisation
between business lines. This can be acceptable as long as it does not lead to improper
incentives and is appropriately governed. However, if the company’s overall performancefalls short, the bottom-up component may lead to a situation where there is more
remuneration distributed than is justified. In this case, the shareholders (and probably otherstakeholders) subsidise the employees of the firm. The recent crisis can serve as an
example of such a situation. Some banks, even those heavily supported by the national
governments and central banks, awarded remuneration packages that were not covered bytheir economic success, leading to substantial capital drains at the wrong time.
2.3.2.

Funding122.
“Funding” describes the process of “filling” bonus pools. While this process normallytakes place at the end of the business year, preparation starts usually much earlier, as bonus
expenses are accrued throughout the year. The criteria employed to determine the funding
are a vital part of a remuneration system. Usually, a mix of pre-defined criteria is applied.
However, management discretion also plays an important role.
Performance-based funding
123.
Under a performance-based funding approach, performance criteria serve as abasis to determine the funding amount, ie to translate the performance assessment into a
remuneration value. This transformation may be more easily carried out for performancemeasures based on financials. As an example, the financial performance of a company orbusiness line can be shared between its shareholders and the employees applying a predefined distribution quota (“sharing percentage”). For non-financial performance measures,the transformation process is less obvious and mostly relies on management discretion. It istherefore important to understand the interaction between funding criteria for different levelsof the firm.
Discretionary funding
124.
Discretionary funding is applied if the bonus pools funded by pre-defined
performance criteria are not sufficient to match the bonus level as desired by management.
There can be many reasons for such a mismatch. In most cases, the management deems
the relation between the “market value” of their employees and the bonus payments strictly
based on a result driven, performance-based approach as not appropriate and decides tomatch the market remuneration level by subsidising its performance-based bonus pools byan additional market-based funding.
125.
Again, it is important to assess on which level such discretionary funding occurs. If it
takes place at the top level, it shows that the bonus payments are not covered by theperformance of the company, leading to a subsidisation of the employees by the owners of
the firm. While this might not be avoided in exceptional circumstances, discretionary funding
for an overall firm level should be applied as conservatively as possible and be fullytransparent to the owners of the company. Even below the top level of the firm, a prevailingneed for discretionary funding would show poor profitability of certain business units andshould prompt mid-term management action.
126.
In addition, discretionary funding should influence the remuneration mix, as it ismostly founded on the need to “invest” in the turn-around or build-up of business activities.
Here, deferred remuneration linked to the future outcome of these initiatives is more
appropriate than short-term payouts, as deferred remuneration may convert market-based
into performance-based funding in the long-term. Discretionary funding of short-term

26

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

remuneration instruments may result in rewarding performance which neither has beenachieved in the past nor will be achieved in future.
127.
It should be mentioned that discretionary funding can also result in reducing the sizeof the bonus pools. This is for instance the case if performance-based funding criteria (ideallydefined at the beginning of the performance measurement process) lead to pools regarded
as too big.
2.3.3.

Allocation

128.
“Allocation” refers to the system or mechanism used for distributing a bonus pool toemployees. The allocation process can be classified into two extremes.
(a)Formula-based allocation

129.
A formula-based allocation relies on quantitative variables to calculate the bonus
amount to be allocated to an employee. The result of that calculation may lead to an absoluteamount to be paid out (corresponding to a bottom-up approach) or a relative share of thebonus pool that is allocated. The process is deterministic and, once established does notallow for additional management discretion.
130.
This type of process can lead to clear incentives, as the employee knows inadvance all factors that influence his bonus award. However, a formula can never include alljob objectives of an employee. In addition, it is difficult to incorporate qualitative performancemeasures. Having formula-based allocation alone may therefore lead to undesired incentives
every time the formula is not able to capture all objectives the employee has to meet.
131.
Even if a performance measure gives a quantitative output, there often is no linear
relation between that output and the resulting remuneration value. Often, caps and floors areapplied, and the relation between performance measure and remuneration value may not belinear. This may be the case if the performance is evaluated against a predefined budget.
132.
Both caps and floors come with caveats. Floors break the relation between
performance and remuneration in the case of unsatisfactory results. Floors also impose alimit on downward risk adjustments, hence weakening the symmetry between risk outcomes
and remuneration outcomes. On the other hand, caps may diminish incentives to perform, as
performance exceeding the cap is not reflected by additional remuneration and therefore
does not “pay off” for the employee. However, the absence of caps may animate to growth
beyond sustainable limits and encourage inadequate risk taking. It is therefore important thatfirms define the link between performance measures and remuneration outcomes wisely andconsider the effects of inappropriate relations, caps and floors.
(b)Discretionary allocation

133.
The discretionary approach leaves the determination of a bonus award solely to the
management or to the remuneration committee. Usually, discretion is exercised in a way
which is mostly not transparent to the employee. However, even under a discretionary
approach, most employers have agreed objectives with their employees and have, at least
informally, linked the bonus awards to be made at the end of a performance period to theachievements of the employee. This is done to give the employee a clear impression on whatkind of behaviour gets rewarded, while at the same time keeping some degree of managerial
flexibility. If employees perceive remuneration decisions as arbitrary, the incentive effect ofperformance based remuneration is weakened or even tainted.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

27

134.
In reality, most firms use a combined approach. While there are “near-deterministic”
elements in the allocation process, there is a discretionary override, which is used in order tocapture all expectations the employee has to meet. Also, discretion is exercised to achieve
recruiting and retention goals. However, such factors should not dominate.

28

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

3.

Ex ante risk adjustments

135.
Ex ante risk adjustments represent the firm’s initial attempt to risk adjust
remuneration pools and/or individual awards made to employees. They can be quantitativeor qualitative in nature and can be applied throughout the remuneration process.

3.1.

General comments

136.
In determining remuneration pools / individual awards, firms should consider the fullrange of current and potential (unexpected) risks associated with the activities undertaken.
Historically, performance measures used in setting the remuneration pool or individualawards frequently contained embedded risk adjustments. Nevertheless, they may not fully or
adequately capture risks undertaken (particularly in stressed environments). Thus, ex ante
adjustments should be applied to ensure that the remuneration is fully aligned with the risks
undertaken.
137.
Industry participants may use a variety of ex ante risk adjustments according to thebusiness line, activity of the employee, and the nature of the performance measure and theaward process. In doing so, it is important for the RemCo and the firm to understand thenature of the risks been undertaken by business lines or employees to ensure that the exante risk adjustment adequately captures both magnitude and duration of the risk. As aresult, a combination of different ex ante risk adjustments may be applicable.
138.
Quantitative measures allow for an explicit adjustment to remuneration based on therisk and risk outcomes and are useful as a first step in adjusting the amount of incentive
remuneration awards for the firm, a business unit or an employee. Significant firms inparticular should consider using more than one quantitative measure to reflect the risks
incurred in their overall business model. Furthermore, it is important that the RemCo
understand the assumptions built into the ex ante risk adjustment in assessing the range of
remuneration outcomes that can occur in expected and unexpected scenarios.
139.
Where a firm experiences difficulties in finding reliable quantitative measures tocover all types of risk undertaken, most likely there will be a need for the firm to rely on
informed judgments to estimate risks and risk outcomes. Most firms have or are in theprocess of incorporating risk-based judgment as a critical input to remuneration
determination, hereafter referred to as qualitative risk adjustments.
140.
Most firms have implemented, or are taking steps to implement, some ex ante
adjustments in determining variable remuneration. Ex ante adjustments are generally first
applied at the pool level on the basis of performance against selected financial measures.
Better practice firms incorporate risk in these adjustments by using some risk-adjusted
measure, such as risk-adjusted return on capital. A qualitative overlay is then imposed which
considers risk management and compliance objectives. Discretionary adjustments by theboard sit as an overarching adjustment tool. A similar approach is then adopted for the
allocation of the variable remuneration pool to business units within the firm, with further exante adjustments made as necessary. Allocation to individuals is then determined against
specific performance objectives which will include targeted financial and risk management
measures, appropriate to the role and responsibilities.

3.2.

Quantitative risk adjustments

141.
Remuneration pools and individual awards typically incorporate funds transfer
pricing and valuation adjustments. Increasingly, firms are implementing specific adjustment

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration29

measures, often capital-related. Firms should have a clear rationale for their choice ofmeasure, including why that measure is appropriate for their business.
3.2.1.

Funds transfer pricing adjustments

142.
Treasury units transfer funds to business units at a cost and term consistent with themandate of the business to assume interest rate risk and liquidity risk. This is a fundamental
mechanism to control these risks in the firm. The assumptions upon which pricing isdetermined are critical to the effectiveness of this mechanism. A failure to accurately reflect
the price of funds for differing risk profiles, including a stressed environment, can expose thefirm to interest rate and/or liquidity risk.

Example of funds transfer pricing adjustment used by an universal bank
Net carrying costs (interest on positions adjusted for cost of funds) are differentiated byasset class, calculated daily using a stressed methodology framework that attempts tocapture funding conditions in stressed markets. Costs are allocated to business units
based on their daily inventory balances. Treasury distinguishes between assets that canbe funded on a secured/unsecured basis. Charges for assets funded on unsecured basis
are based on the firm’s weighted average cost of long-term unsecured funding. Assets
funded on secured basis are charged a weighted average cost of funds that incorporates
overnight benchmark rate, LTD Spread and Funding Ladder (which accounts for asset
liquidity).
Observation: The advantage of this approach is that the cost of funding is driven down tothe business level daily differentiated by asset class to reflect the transactional liquidity ofthe positions funded in both normal and stressed markets.

Funds transfer pricing adjustments for interest rate risk
143.
The cost of funds provided by Treasury units is adjusted to reflect the corresponding
interest rate a risk.

Illustrative example
Lending units obtain funds from Treasury on a matched funded cost of funds basis. Thiseffectively immunises the lending department from interest rate risk, leaving thedepartment with credit risk, their core expertise.
Observation: This ensures that Treasury staff receive a variable remuneration that isaligned to the bank’s interest rate risk and that lending staff receive variable remunerationthat is aligned to the bank’s credit risk – both within their areas of control and responsibility.

Funds transfer pricing adjustments for liquidity risk
144.
The cost of funds provided by Treasury units is adjusted for the cost of obtaining
funds in the marketplace for terms consistent with the transactional market liquidity of thepositions funded.

30

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Illustrative example
A firm may add liquidity surcharges to the cost of funds based upon a classification of thepositions funded into one of three classes:-

Highly liquid – using short term funding costs-

Intermediate liquidity – using intermediate term funding costs-

Illiquid – using long term debt costs or cost of equity.

Observation: This aligns remuneration to the potential liquidity risk a position may
generate. Excessive liquidity risks will be penalised through higher costs and variable
remuneration can be adjusted accordingly. However, additional focus is needed to ensure
the classification assumptions used are appropriate based on differing risk profiles.

3.2.2.

Valuation Adjustments

145.
Valuation adjustments are a key tool in risk adjusting performance, and indirectly
remuneration if applied appropriately. “Mark to middle” or “mark to model” do not reflect trueliquidation values, model risks or counterparty risk. Some firms adjust the valuation ofindividual positions or cohorts of positions for characteristics that would likely motivate a
discounted price if transferred to a third party in a market transaction. Such characteristics
include, but are not limited to: counterparty credit risk (leading to credit valuation
adjustments), discounts for model structuring risks and model parameter uncertainty, anddiscounts for liquidity.
3.2.3.

Specific quantitative risk adjustments

146.
It is increasingly common for firms to use specific measures (often capital-related)
as part of their quantitative risk adjustments when assessing and calculating remuneration.
Examples include Economic Capital, Economic Profit, Return on Risk Weighted Assets andReturn on Allocated Equity. Ex ante adjustments are then determined by considering thefirm’s performance against these measures. These measures can provide a moretransparent picture of the firm’s performance, compared to pure accounting-based measures.

Examples of specific quantitative adjustments to remuneration pools
Case 1 (major universal bank)Remuneration calculations are driven mainly by three metrics: Pre-tax Profit, Economic
Profit (after-tax profit minus an economic capital charge) and Return on Risk Weighted
Assets. The advantage of this approach is that it takes account of a range of key factors(profit, capital and risk) which in turn supports the effectiveness of the firm’s risk
management.
Observation: The approach could be improved by taking greater account of the cost of
liquidity, though this is implicitly recognised in profit.
Case 2 (large bank with traditional retail activity)
Remuneration calculation is based on profits before taxes, adjusted by risks andextraordinary profits (PBT), taking also into account the efficient use of capital (RORAC)
and the comparison with competitors.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration31

Observation: This approach could be useful as incentives are generated by a simple
quantitative measure (pre tax profit), which will be later adjusted to obtain a better
qualitative measure that takes into account the incurred risk.
Case 3 (universal bank)Remuneration pool calculations are driven by a risk adjusted net income metric that
includes a charge for Economic Capital. The Economic Capital calculation is a function of
VaR, unused VaR, and includes an added stress component. It also reflects market, credit,
operational, reputational, liquidity and legal risks. The resulting Economic Value Added
metric is then used to size and distribute the accrued incentive remuneration pool.
Observations: The advantage of this approach is that profit, capital and risk have a direct
impact on the business line remuneration pool. However, this method is highly dependent
on the accuracy and integrity of the firm’s economic capital model. Inaccurate estimates ofrisk or the inability to capture all risks can severely compromise the effectiveness of thismechanism in providing incentives to prudently manage risk and capital. Additionally, thepresence of this metric may create adverse incentives for employees to minimise theeconomic capital attributed to their business.
147.
Although not as common, there are also examples of quantitative adjustments madewhen allocating or determining individuals’ variable remuneration, such as through the use ofa risk-adjusted profit figure for every customer segment. Ex ante adjustments should bealigned to risk and encourage appropriate behaviour throughout the firm as a whole. In
practice, this may mean that a number of ex ante adjustments are used throughout thedifferent levels of the firm.

Example of specific adjustment used in the allocation for individual remuneration used by amedium size retail bank
Risk adjustment is made at a very low level: market segments within a given street branch.
The bank uses its internal capital models for Basel II to estimate the expected loss (EL) of
each customer/deal. This EL is subtracted from the profit before taxes (PBT) generated bythat customer, obtaining a risk-adjusted profit, so that a figure for risk-adjusted profit isobtained for every group of customers (customer segment) within a given street branch.
The economic value added adjusted by risk (something similar to economic profit) is
computed for each customer/deal by subtracting the cost of capital from the PBT. The costof capital of a given unit is estimated as the product of (a) the participation percentage ofthe unit on the overall economic capital; (b) the regulatory capital allocated to the unit; (c)the cost of capital of the firm.
Business unit P&L includes a rate to be charged or paid for the difference between
investment and funds collected. This rate includes both the bank’s funding costs (Euribor)and a liquidity premium.
Observation: This could be a good example of a bottom-up approach. It is important tohighlight that under this approach the firm should also take into account its overall profit
when calculating its remuneration pool.

32

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

3.2.4.

Soundness of the quantitative risk adjustments

148.
The quantitative ex ante risk adjustments made by firms largely rely on existingmeasures within the firms, generally used for other risk management purposes or foraccounting purposes. As a result, the limitations and potential issues related to thesemeasures are also relevant for the remuneration process. The risk adjustments used should
benefit from the experience gained when dealing with these risks in other contexts andshould be challenged like any other component of the risk management process.
149.
For example, when fund transfer pricing adjustments for liquidity risks are made, it iscritically important to determine whether the classification is based upon asset liquidity innormal market conditions or stressed market conditions. Many firms are gravitating to using
stressed market condition liquidity, resulting in longer term costs of funds transferred to thebusiness. What constitutes stress, however, may differ by firm. Firms are hesitant to baseliquidity surcharges on the conditions experienced in 2008 as they regard the cost of doing
so too high relative to the likelihood of such conditions re-occurring. It is important for firms toestablish realistic and timely liquidity transfer costs and use them as intended. If they choose
not to use their existing liquidity transfer cost methodology, the rationale should be
documented. Furthermore, it would be prudent for firms to frequently refresh the stressfactors to reflect knowledge gained from market experience.
150.
Also, the set of valuation adjustments employed should be complete and wellcalibrated to properly reflect the valuation discount the positions would encounter if sold into
the market. Because valuation discounts can vary due to market conditions, thus firms
should regularly update and adjust their assumptions as appropriate. Firms should obtain thenecessary input from their Risk function to ensure that valuations are impartial andindependent.
151.
In Annex 4, a Case Study is presented that illustrates how a fictitious wholesalebank establishes its variable remuneration and uses quantitative risk adjustments.

3.3.

Specific qualitative risk adjustments

152.
It is important that qualitative risk elements are considered. These ex ante
adjustment could take place while setting firm-wide and business unit remuneration pools or
when determining or allocating individuals’ remuneration. Qualitative ex ante risk
adjustments are common at both levels, contrary to quantitative adjustments which tend to
be mostly observed at the pool level.
3.3.1

Specific qualitative risk adjustments

153.
A common practice that firms have recently introduced in making qualitative risk
adjustments to remuneration pools is for the RemCo to actively engage the Risk
Management group in assessing the risk taken by the firm (both risk taken within the financial
period vs. related risk appetite, as well as emerging risks).
154.
A common good practice observed where firms make qualitative risk adjustments
when allocating/determining individuals’ remuneration is through the use of balanced
scorecards that explicitly include risk and control considerations such as compliancebreaches, risk limit breaches and internal control breakdowns (eg based on internal audit
results).

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

33

Examples of qualitative adjustments at remuneration pools level
Case 1 (major universal bank):
After remuneration pools have been assessed quantitatively, the Remuneration Committee
examines reports from the Finance committee (including quality of earnings and businessline performance) and Risk committee (review of risk performance vs risk appetite, risk
trends/concentrations). The Remuneration Committee may then adjust remuneration pools
to align with the reports’ findings.
Case 2 (large wholesale bank):
The Chief Risk Officer and the RemCo are involved in qualitative ex ante risk adjustments
at the firm-wide and business unit pool level:
Chief Risk Officer performs a year-end review of pool payout accrual. A comparison ofrisks undertaken against the bank’s board-approved risk appetite statement is presented to
the RemCo in addition to the Risk Committee.
The RemCo has discretion to use the risk adjustment to reduce the variable remuneration
award pool to zero if warranted given circumstances.
Observations: These examples demonstrate the ability to consider an array of factors
when the Remuneration Committee is involved, but the rationale and decisions taken need
to be documented.
Example of qualitative adjustments at individual level used by a large wholesale bank
Judgment is used in allocating the business pool as well as individual remuneration:CEO allocates the pool to the senior business leaders at his/her discretion.
Discretionary factors include achievement of results and alignment to the Bank’s risk
appetite among others.



Chief Auditor provides audit views in performance appraisals of senior executive
team regarding control issues and tone set by them.



Senior business leaders allocate awards to individuals based on discretion (there isno established formula). The current individual scorecard measures are:
o
o
o
o
o

Regulatory – no significant breach of compliance policies attributable to theindividual.
Audit – No overdue, unsatisfactory, or requires improvement audit findings
attributable to the individual.
Risk – No significant breach of risk policies attributable to the individual.
Control/Governance – No significant breaches or ongoing pattern pertaining torelevant control and governance processes attributable to the individual.
Other strategic priority – consistently demonstrates behaviours in the best longterm interest of the firm, irrespective of departmental boundaries.

Observation: These examples demonstrate that there is discretion from various sources
used to adjust the business pool and individual award; however, there is a risk that thediscretion exercised may not be fully transparent. Furthermore, control functions may facesignificant pressure from stakeholders to minimise or downplay their findings.
155.
Please refer to the second part of the Case Study presented in Annex 4 which
illustrates how a wholesale bank introduces the qualitative risk adjustments in its
remuneration system.
34

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

3.3.2.

Soundness of the qualitative ex ante risk adjustments

156.
There are inherent risks in relying on judgment, including lack of transparency indecision-making from employee and other stakeholders’ perspectives, and poor judgments
being made. To offset these risks it is important that whenever judgment is the source of arisk adjustment there should be:clearly written policies outlining parameters and key considerations to which thejudgment will be based,clear and complete documentation of the final decision regarding the risk
adjustment,

relevant control function experts involved in the ex ante risk adjustment
determination,

appropriate levels of approval obtained eg for adjustments made to senior executive
or firm-wide remuneration the board or the RemCo should provide approval.

157.
Firms should maintain, and be prepared to disclose to supervisors, detailed recordsof how qualitative factors have been applied. In particular, firms should be prepared toprovide further details if the final outcome after applying qualitative factors is significantly
different from the initial outcome using quantitative measures.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

35

4.

Deferral and ex post risk adjustments

158.
Deferred remuneration, especially with ex post risk adjustments, is a useful tool for
improving risk-taking incentives because the amount ultimately received by employees canbe made to depend on risk outcomes. Conceptually this is a simplification relative to ex anterisk adjustment, which depends on the ability of the banking organisation to measure risks
before risk outcomes occur and to make awards of remuneration depend on such ex anterisk assessments. However, deferral has its own complications. For instance, sometimes risk
outcomes are difficult to measure, and some of the most worrisome risk outcomes occur only
infrequently (“tail risk” outcomes), so an employee or firm might take high levels of tail risk forsome time without any impact on deferred remuneration.

4.1.

Overview of the deferred remuneration process

4.1.1.

Supervisory and Regulatory Interest in Deferred Remuneration

159.
The main interest of supervisory and regulatory entities in deferred remuneration isprudential. To the extent it can work to reduce imprudent or excessive risk-taking, withoutchoking off appropriate risk-taking or other socially desirable aspects of financial institution
behaviour, deferred remuneration is a practice to be encouraged. The historical role ofdeferred remuneration in promoting employee retention or alignment of employees’ interests
with shareholders (see box below) differs from its role in shaping risk-taking incentives.

Background: the origins of deferred remuneration
Current deferred remuneration practices at major universal banks often have their roots in(and may closely resemble in the details) remuneration schemes developed in the 1980s(or earlier). Some schemes were developed by firms that converted from a partnershipform to a publicly held company. Annual remuneration awards that were the analogue of apartner’s share of profit were not paid immediately to employees, but remained in thehands of the bank for a period of time in the form of the firm’s stock or other equity-linked
instruments. Payouts occurred on a schedule, but an employee forfeited remaining
payouts if he or she left the firm. This structure was designed to (imperfectly) simulate two
aspects of the former partnership arrangement:
1)

Employees’ wealth would be tied up in the firm and would grow or shrink with thefortunes of the firm, and2)Moving from the firm to a rival firm was difficult or impossible (partnershipagreements often involved agreed-to limitations on a partner’s labour mobility).

4.1.2.

A stylised example of a deferral scheme

160.
Deferred remuneration involves a number of building blocks, some of which are
discussed individually for simplicity of exposition. The diagram below illustrates the mainconcepts and dimension of a deferred remuneration process, focusing on the time dimensionof the process. The wording used in the draft corresponds to the terminology defined in
Annex 2.

36

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Levelof
bonus

Vesting of third deferred part

Reevaluation of risks

Vesting of second deferred part

Possible value increase
Possible value decrease

Reevaluation of risks

Cash

+
-

Reevaluation of risks

EquityVesting of upfront part of bonus

Measurement of performanceafter risk adjustment

End of year
Bonus payout season

Vesting of first deferred part

LegendTime

Deferredpart = 6

10
3

11+-

11+-

5
7

11+Retention period

Retention period
Retention period

4

0

n-1

n

n+1

n+2

n+3

n+4

Time

accrual period
Deferral period of 3 years

161.
It can be said that the deferral period starts right after the accrual period. It ends onthe day of the last vesting event. The dates when remuneration vests to employees arealways on or before the dates of pay out of the respective remuneration share. If theemployee takes ownership of all of an award of incentive remuneration at the time the award
is made (or very soon after), with no possibility for implicit or explicit adjustments to theamount of the award, then no deferral occurs and there is no deferral period. Otherwise, that
portion of the award that does not vest at the time the award is made is deferred, whichallows for ex post risk adjustments by malus or implicit adjustment.

4.2.

Methods to adjust remuneration to outcomes

4.2.1.

The types of ex post risk adjustment

Implicit and explicit ex post risk adjustments
162.
A first distinction needs to be made between implicit and explicit risk adjustment. An
implicit risk adjustment simply is the result of the changes in the value of the remuneration
over time that are not directly influenced by the bank. It corresponds in practice to thechange of the value of shares or share-linked instruments during the deferral period or theRange of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration37

retention period and is not relevant for cash payout. 13 Explicit risk adjustments, on thecontrary, require a formal decision (or process) from the banks to reduce the amount of the
remuneration that has already been accrued and awarded. Such a decision can only betaken based on risk outcomes or other aspects of employee performance that become
clearer over time. It generally needs to clear pre-determined objectives or triggers.
163.
Implicit ex post risk adjustments are not likely to be effective tools on their own forproviding appropriate risk-taking incentives to most employees because market prices may
move due to many different reasons unrelated to the actions taken by the employee (forexample, the market-wide price of equity-market risk may change) and because for mostemployees the value of the firm is not likely to be much affected by their individual decisions
or performance. It is possible that implicit adjustments may be somewhat more effective forvery senior executives because their actions affect the entire firm. Thus, in principle, theiractions should affect the market price of the firm’s stock. Whether the link between theiractions and the stock price is strong enough is an open question.
164.
Transfer restrictions, such as share retention policies, affect employee risk-taking
incentives only by extending the period during which implicit adjustments operate. If implicit
adjustments are not effective tools for aligning risk taking incentives of a given employee,then share retention policies also will not be effective. For this reason, and as described in
the definitions in the Annex 2, transfer restrictions should not be viewed as a substitute for alonger deferral period.
Malus and clawbacks
165.
Malus and clawbacks are both methods for implementing explicit ex post risk
adjustments. Malus operate by affecting vesting (reduction of the amount due but not paid).
Clawbacks operate by requiring the employee to return a specified amount of money to thefirm. In practice, malus are more feasible to implement or enforce in many jurisdictions, but
do not operate after the end of the deferral period. Clawbacks are often more difficult to
enforce, but in principle could operate over a very long period of time.
Malus:
Example of a malus scheme used by a large retail bank
For the most senior executives, bonuses are deferred for three years, and vesting occurs
only if none of the following events occur:

The employee leaves the firm.



Bad financial performance of firm (specific indicators are used)

Breach of code of conduct and other internal rules, especially concerning risksMaterial restatement of the firm’s financial statements

Significant changes in the firm’s economic capital and qualitative assessment ofrisks.

13

Implicit risk adjustments might also be possible when the vesting of awarded remuneration in cash is linked tothe observed performance of shares or other similar instruments, or to the outcomes of predetermined
indicators. This could notably be observed for firms not willing or not able to use shares to pay theiremployees.

38

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

No malus for other employees of the firm.
Observations: This example shows that a combination of triggers can be used to apply
malus.
Example of a malus scheme used by a large investment bank
For senior executives, 75% of senior executive bonuses are deferred over three years and
75% of equity awards are subject to a retention requirement. Senior executives’ deferredstock is subject to a malus that depends on return-on-equity excluding debt value
adjustments (applies to half of the deferred amount) and relative total shareholder return(applies to the other half), with unvested amounts zeroed out if targets are not met.
The fraction deferred for other employees and vests over three years. A portion of suchdeferrals is in restricted stock that is subject to malus for malfeasance but not for losses orpoor ex post performance. The remainder is cash awards that are deferred over three
years and are subject to a malus that depends on losses on positions where the employee
operated outside risk management parameters and revenue from the positions was afactor in determining the award. In most cases, half vests after two years and theremainder at the end of the third year.
Observations: This example shows how malus can vary according to employees’ types
and to the composition of the deferred remuneration.

Clawback:
Example of a clawback scheme used by a large universal bank
All remuneration awards for the year 2009 are subject to three claw-back conditions:1.

The first condition is based on the group earnings (only relevant for the most senior
executives).

2.

The second condition refers to the case of a violation of internal rules or external
regulations (relevant for all employees).

3.

The third condition is based on “substantial decreases” in the value of specificpositions on an individual level (relevant for all employees).

Observations: This shows that different triggers could be combined (or added).

4.2.2. Designing a risk adjusted deferred remuneration scheme
166.
It is important to note that the remuneration payout structure and schedule are likely
to differ across firms (especially firms in different businesses). They may also differ acrossemployees within a firm, depending on the role of such elements of deferral practices inadjusting employees’ risk-taking incentives.
167.
Indeed, while remaining in line with the FSB Principles and Standards, the deferral
and ex post schemes can be designed and implemented very differently, based on thedecisions made with respect to the various components of the schemes and in particular:The proportion of variable remuneration that is deferred,

The time aspects of the schemes (duration of the deferral periods and details ofvesting schedules),Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

39



The composition of the deferred remuneration (mix of cash and shares or sharelinked instruments),

The nature of the possible ex post adjustments (implicit and/or explicit, malus and/or
clawback) and their conditions/triggers,The existence and duration of transfer restrictions.

The following examples show the diversity and complexity of the remuneration payout
structure and schedule, which combine and adapt several of the parameters mentioned
above.
Used by a large universal bankWith regard to individual thresholds, 50% of executives’ variable remuneration aretransformed into so-called “Share Awards” (virtual stocks) and deferred for not less than
three years, whereas there is only one vesting and payout date at the end of the deferral
period.
The ultimate value of the Share Awards at the end of the deferral period is tied to the stock
price of the institution, calculated on the basis of the average stock price of the previous
quarter (implicit adjustment). In addition, the amount of the Shares Awards depends on
predefined (malus) criteria (explicit adjustment). In the case of individual misconduct, theindividual remuneration claims maybe decreased or completely revoked by the institution.
At the payment date, the value of the Share Awards is paid in the form of cash to the
executive.
Used by a large universal bank
For the senior executives, roughly 60% of the variable remuneration is deferred. The
deferred part of the variable remuneration consists of two components: A stock based“Equity Award” (75%) and a cash-based “Incentive Award” (25%)(1)

Stock based Equity Award:

Deferred for 3 ¾ years
Value tied to the sustained performance of the institution (stock price under the
additional condition of a non-negative net income before tax of the institution)Pro-rata vesting and payment in shares, starting at the end of first year of thedeferral period (9 tranches)(2)

Cash-based Incentive Award:

Deferred for 3 years
Value tied to the sustained performance of the institution (based on the ROE
less Cost of Funds under the additional condition of a non-negative net income
before tax of the institution)

Pro-rata vesting and payment in cash, annual payments starting at the end of first year ofthe deferral period (3 tranches)
Used by a large universal bank
Depending on the level of the employee, and for middle- and senior-level people, thefraction of bonuses that is deferred ranges from 30 to 60%, and is in the form of restricted
stock vesting over three years. For trading and investment banking employees, the fraction
deferred depends on the level of pay rather than rank and ranges up to 66%, with anaverage of 50%.
For all employees, unvested amounts can be cancelled for “detrimental conduct.”
The firm also has a newly introduced performance-based vesting feature, where

40

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remunerationperformance measures depend on the level of the employee (firm-wide performance forsenior executives, unit performance for unit leaders, and desk or individual performance forlower level people). Prior to each vesting date, when a loss has occurred, a committee
determines whether each relevant employee was accountable for the loss and how muchof the unvested remuneration to cancel.
Used by a large universal bank
The holding company determines the variable remuneration of the first 200 positions
across the entire banking group (“risk taker”).
These executives are awarded both in shares or share-linked instruments and cash.
Equity-based incentives consist of performance stock options and performance share witha performance period of three years.
Cash remuneration is based on:-“group gates”, that are minimum conditions to get the bonuses, related to targets ofprofitability and capital of the group (adjusted ROE, Core tier One ratio and Net
Profit). Since 2010 “group gates” are related to the exposure to liquidity risk as well
(Cash Horizon).

-

Assessment of the performances depending on operative targets (Net Operating
Profit on Tangible Assets) and qualitative measures (Reputation of the group for
CEO and customer satisfaction for the executives);

The deferral period of the assignment, subject to the conservation of the “group gate”
during the 2 years following the first year payout (in 2009 payout of up to two thirds ofannual incentives was deferred. Such proportion has been reduced for 2010, up to 40%).
Used by a large universal bankAround 850-900 employees benefit from the incentive-based remuneration scheme.
These employees are awarded either in share-linked instruments or cash.
Top and Senior Management are awarded in equity-related instruments. In particular, they
are awarded a deferred one-off bonus whose amount is related to the difference between
the Total Shareholder Return earned on the bank’s ordinary share and the TSR of the peergroup (taking into account a considerable sample of competitors). However, a gate is inplace to ensure that such incentive-based scheme is implemented only if 95% of the set
objectives are reached over the three-year period.
The amount of the bonus changes according to three performance-based classes
depending on the degree to which the stated objectives are reached over the three-year
period.
The accrual period is three years. At the end of the third financial year, the objectives set
over the three-year period are assessed and the bonus due is awarded to the manager
accordingly.
The bonus is vested over the two following financial years. At the end of the first financial
year, the difference between the TSR earned on the bank’s ordinary share and that of thebank’s peer group is determined and on the basis of such difference, the first half of thebonus is paid. At the end of the second financial year, the same evaluation is carried out.
168.
Please refer to the third part of the Case Study presented in Annex 4 which
illustrates how the fictitious wholesale bank introduces ex post risk adjustments in its
remuneration system.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

41

4.3.

Specific issues

169.
Supervisors and banks should pay particular attention to the following issues which
may reduce the effectiveness of deferral schemes and ex post adjustments.
4.3.1.

Upward adjustments of deferred remuneration

170.
Upward adjustments of deferred remuneration may undo some or all of the effect on
incentives of downward adjustments. This might especially be the case where upward
adjustments depend on the actions of the employee. The primary interest of supervisors is in
the effectiveness of downward adjustments. Though upward adjustments should be
discouraged because they tend to weaken the effectiveness of downward adjustments, an
important open issue is the ability of supervisors to discourage their use. Because of the
popularity of equity-linked instruments as a vehicle for deferred remuneration awards and thepresumption that such a practice tends to align the interests of shareholders and employees,
it is likely to be difficult to discourage the use of implicit upward adjustments, and thus firms
may argue that it would be inconsistent on the part of supervisors to allow implicit upward
adjustments but not explicit upward adjustments. A possible resolution of the problem would
be to require much stronger explicit downward adjustments in cases where upward
adjustments are present.
4.3.2.

Golden “handshakes”

171.
The use of long term incentives may lead to conflict of interest between employee
and employer in cases where the employee leaves a firm prior to the end of the performancemeasurement period. When an employee leaves the firm, the most common practice is to
end the deferral period by cancelling the employee’s right to ever receive any unvested
deferred remuneration. Thus, in order to attract an employee to leave his or her old firm,
another firm may have to compensate the employee for the unvested remuneration that islost at the old firm (a “golden handshake”). This “buy out” practice, which is common,
reduces the effectiveness of deferral arrangements in improving risk-taking incentives for
employees who believe they are mobile and who frequently move from one firm to another(since they can escape the effect of ex post risk adjustments). Ideally, this problem would be
solved by allowing deferral and vesting arrangements to continue to run after an employee
leaves the firm. The employee would still be subject to ex post adjustment, and the new firm
would not have an incentive to buy out unvested remuneration. Such continuation occurs insome cases at some firms, such as when an employee retires. However, in somejurisdictions, continuing the deferral arrangement may cause conflicts of interest between theemployee and the new or old employer, or may pose other problems. 14 The best feasible
way to deal with the incentive problems associated with golden handshakes remains an open
question.
4.3.3.

Tax and legal frameworks

172.
These vary across jurisdictions. They are not, per se, of interest to supervisors.
However, depending on the economic impact of such issues, they may place constraints on

14

For example, if the employee goes to work for a competitor, the existence of deferred remuneration from theprevious employer may give the employee incentives to compete less vigorously with the former employer
than with other firms. On the other hand, to the extent that the former employer has discretion in making
decisions about vesting of deferred remuneration, once the employee leaves the former employer has
incentives not to vest remaining deferred remuneration.

42

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

the practical effectiveness of deferral methods or on the details of their implementation. For
instance, some fiscal treatments can pose serious difficulties on the use of clawback clauses
since some governments do not refund taxes paid on previously paid bonuses after suchbonuses are clawed back. However, practice has shown that the underlying principles of risk
adjustment of remuneration can be achieved in most tax, legal and regulatory environments.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

43Annex 1
Institutional coverage of FSB principles

Country

Applied toSize thresholds

Argentina

Banks

Market share of deposits over 2%

Australia

Banks, insurers

No

Belgium

Banks, investment
firms, asset
managers, insurers

No

BrazilBanks

Covered if publicly traded or regulatory capital > R$1 bn or
third party assets > R$1 bn

CanadaBanks, insurers

FSB principles are applicable to all banks and insurers.
FSB Implementation standards are applicable to 6 largebanking and 3 large insurance conglomerates

China

Banks

No

FranceBanks, investment
firms

No

Germany

Banks, insurers

General requirements apply to all banks and insurers, special
requirements apply to large & complex banks and insurers

Hong Kong

Banks, insurers

No – insurers to observe the guidance promulgated by IAIS

India

Banks, insurers

No

Indonesia

Banks

No

Italy

Banks, insurers

6 large banking groups

Japan

Banks, insurers

Major banking groups & internationally active financial
institutions

Korea

Banks, insurers

Banks – domestic banks
Insurers – Total assets > KRW 5 trillion

Luxembourg

Banks, investment
firms, asset
managers

No

MexicoBanks

No

Netherlands

Banks, insurers,
pension funds

No

RussiaBanks

No

Saudi Arabia

Banks

No

Singapore

Banks, insurers

Applied to locally incorporated banks.
Applied to locally incorporated life insurers with total assets >S$5 billion

South Africa

44

Banks

No

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

SpainBanks

No

SwedenBanks, investment
firms, asset
managers, insurers

No

Switzerland

Banks, insurers

6 banks and 5 insurers with capital over CHF 2 bn

TurkeyBanks, insurers

No - regulation for insurers is currently under development

UK

Banks, building
societies, broker
dealers

Banks & building societies with regulatory capital > £ 1 billion;
broker dealers with regulatory capital > £ 750 million.

USA

Banking
organisations
supervised by Fed
Reserve

Policy decision on application to insurers has not been madeas yet.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

45

Annex 2
Terminology
Accrual or performance measurement period: the point at which employee remuneration
has been earned (but not yet paid)
An employee works for a certain time period (most commonly a year, but the period may belonger or shorter), during which performance is assessed and the employee may be granted
an “award” of variable remuneration.
Practical considerations: some of the award may be paid immediately after the grant
is made, and some may be paid later (“deferral”). The period is sometimes called
the “accrual period” and sometimes the “performance period” or “performancemeasurement period.” However, “accrual period” is also used by banks to refer to aperiod for which they calculate an expected amount of remuneration to be paid.
Sometimes the accrued amount is for purposes of financial reporting, so accrual
periods of this type of a quarter or half-year are common. Sometimes the accrual
amount is allocated informally to business units for purposes of internal costaccounting. Thus, different users of “accrual period” may be talking about mattersthat are conceptually quite different. For the purposes of the FSB Principles andStandards, the accrual period refers to the period for which the performanceassessment is based.
Clawback: a clawback arrangement is a contractual agreement between the employee andthe bank in which the employee agrees to return previously paid or vested remuneration to
the bank under certain circumstances.
Clawbacks may operate beyond the end of a deferral period (ie after vesting iscomplete) but may also be effective during the vesting period depending on how the
clawback is designed. Like a malus adjustment, the clawback may be controlled bya formula or may be at the bank’s discretion. In many cases the bank agrees toexercise the clawback only under certain circumstances, such as a discovery thatthe employee misrepresented financial results or other information. Legal feasibility
and practicality of enforcement of clawback arrangements differs acrossjurisdictions.
Deferred remuneration: that portion of remuneration that is withheld following the end of theaccrual period.
Some risks may take not fully emerge until well after the accrual period. It is therefore
appropriate that a proportion of variable remuneration be withheld until such time thatmaterial risks are evident and appropriate risk adjustments made to variable remuneration.
This period, in which the initial evaluation of performance is being confirmed and variable
remuneration withheld, is the deferral period. The two essential features of deferredremuneration are that it has not yet vested and is subject to malus adjustments. The deferral
period begins when deferred remuneration is awarded, and ends when the last part vests
with the employee.
Practical considerations the total amount of an award may be divided into parts, withthe transfer of ownership of each part occurring at different points in time (“vesting”).
The deferral period ends when the last part becomes the employee’s property.

46

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

However, the bank may still reclaim ownership under some circumstances(“clawback”). Additionally, the employee may not be able to spend a given part until
additional time has passed (“transfer restriction period”).
Ex ante adjustment: an adjustment to remuneration for risk as remuneration is accrued andawarded, to take into account potential adverse developments in the future.
Explicit ex post adjustment: an adjustment by the bank to remuneration that has alreadybeen accrued and awarded made in light of observed risk and performance outcomes.
Explicit ex post adjustments generally take the form of malus or clawback clauses (eg bylowering the value of deferred cash remuneration or by reducing the number of shares thatthe employee ultimately receives). These adjustments can be determined using a predetermined formula, qualitatively or as a combination of both approaches. Ex post
adjustments can also be achieved through other mechanisms set by the bank.
Implicit ex post adjustment: changes that are not directly influenced by the bank in thevalue of remuneration that has already been accrued and awarded.
Malus: a malus arrangement permits the bank to prevent vesting of all or part of the amountof a deferred remuneration
Malus adjustments to remuneration may be done at the bank’s discretion, or may becontrolled by a pre-set formula. Malus arrangements do not reverse vesting after it has
already occurred, so they have no force after the end of the deferral period.
Pay out: actual payment or legal transfer
The remuneration that vested to the employee is actually received by the employee and may
be spent.
Practical considerations: this marks the actual physical receipt of financial benefits
by the employee. For shares subject to a transfer restriction, the pay out will occur
later than vesting and at the end of the transfer restriction period.
Share transfer restrictions: any limitation on the sale of shares, often defined in the shareretention policy
Transfer restriction period: the period of time during which transfer restrictions apply
Practical considerations: the transfer restriction period (or retention period) is
independent of the deferral period. This implies that share retention periods do notextend the deferral period for purposes of interpreting FSB Standards, including inparticular the requirement of a minimum length of 3 years as defined in FSB
standard 7.
Vesting: the point at which an employee becomes entitled to receive payment or title
Practical considerations: this usually involves the pay out of variable remuneration,
however, in some jurisdictions this may be the point at which part or all of thevariable remuneration is no longer adjusted. The time over which the employee
becomes entitled to receive risk-adjusted variable remuneration is the vesting
period. When remuneration is vested, explicit (by the bank) ex post adjustments tothe amount can no longer occur by a “malus” mechanism. However, ex post
adjustments might still occur by a “clawback”. Implicit ex post adjustments (egchange in value of share-linked instruments) may still occur until ultimate pay out.
Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

47

The FSB’s Implementation Standards require that remuneration payable underdeferral arrangements should generally vest no faster than on a pro rata basis. Thismeans that there is the potential for the vesting period and deferral periods tooverlap.

48

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Annex 3
Scorecards for the assessment of risk adjustments
Notes and guidance
1. The scorecards should normally be completed at consolidated group level. Howeversupervisors may decide that for large groups it may be necessary to complete separate
scorecards for significant units with autonomous governance and control functions.
2. Leave cells blank where, in scorecard 1, an agent plays no significant role and inscorecard 2, a risk adjustment technique is not applied to a particular risk.
3. Blank rows or columns are therefore possible, but in each case supervisors should
consider carefully whether that can be justified, or whether this means that there is a a gap in
the risk adjustment process.
4. For the assessment, proportionality should be used. The scoring thresholds for significant
financial institutions should be higher than for smaller/less complex institutions.
5. Scoring could be as follows:
3 - good practice
2 - acceptable1 - poor practice, remedial action required.
6. A scorecard where no score is higher than 2 may also suggest the need for action by thefirm (to “raise its game”).

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

49

Risk Adjustment of Bonus Pools: Scorecard for completion by Supervisors
Scorecard 1:
Governance andControls
Risk Adjustment
Tasks
Articulation of risk
appetite

Board

RemCo

Risk Function

Business Unit
(Front Office)Compliance

Design selection ofrisk adjustment
techniques
Cost of Capital
Calculation / Allocation& control
Valuation adjustment
review /control
Funds transfer
pricing
oversight/control
Qualitative risk
adjustments
Determination of top
down bonus pools(including capitalsustainability check)

Abritration between
top down pool andbottom up bids
Other ….

Indicate which functions in the firm have a significant role in each of the risk adjustment
tasks

50

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

Scorecard 2: Matrix of risks and risk techniques
Risk type
CreditMeasuresMarketLiquidity

Operational

Business

Legal

Financial Metrics
Stress Tests
Non Financial metrics
Long term perfomancemeasurement
Qualitative discretion

Structures

Deferral
Performance adjustment

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

51

Reputation

Annex 4
Case Study – Large Wholesale Bank 15
Part 1 (Quantitative ex ante risk adjustments)
A large wholesale bank establishes a pool for variable remuneration. At each level,
quantitative ex ante adjustments are considered in conjunction with qualitative ex ante
adjustments. The actual size of the pool is set by the board, following a guideline of ranges
that is established with reference to the bank’s cash net profit and return on allocated equity,
relative to a group of peers. This provides an initial mechanism for ex ante adjustment,aligned to the bank’s overall risk.
This pool is then allocated to business units. Each business unit receives an allocation basedon its net income. Further ex ante adjustments are made based on capital charges for credit,
market and liquidity risks as appropriate and specified in business unit objectives. For
business units which do not generate profit, allocation is based on performance against nonfinancial objectives. This ensures that ex ante adjustments are aligned to the specific risks ofthe business unit.
At an individual level, quantitative ex ante adjustments are used where these are appropriate
to the roles and responsibilities. This will usually occur for senior management, where there
is a direct link between their actions and the profitability of the business unit. However, formost staff, ex ante risk adjustments are applied on a qualitative basis (see below).
Part 2 (Qualitative ex ante risk adjustments)
The large wholesale bank also considers the need for qualitative ex ante risk adjustments ateach point of allocation for variable remuneration.
At the group level, the board considers the bank’s overall risk appetite and its performance
relative to defined risk objectives throughout the year. In particular, any serious deficiencies
identified within the risk management framework, risk management issues or compliancebreaches will result in the total pool being revised downwards. The board’s Risk Committee
provides input in to this review. This includes an assessment of the bank’s performanceagainst potential strategic risks.
At the business unit level, similar ex ante risk adjustments are applied. The business unit’s
performance is considered in the context of its risk management framework. This includes
both its operations within the existing risk management framework and initiatives undertaken
to improve business unit risk management. The relevant risk management unit provides anassessment of the business unit’s performance.
At the individual level, a balanced scorecard approach is used. The scorecard incorporates
qualitative measures such as performance within established risk limits, compliance with risk
management, adequacy of response to audit issues and performance against bank values.

15

As mentioned earlier for the various examples presented in this report, this case study is presented forillustration purpose and should not be considered as a model.

52

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of RemunerationEffective performance measured against the risk and compliance metrics acts as a ‘gate
keeper’ for employees to be eligible for variable remuneration. The risk management unit
provides input on individual performance against risk management objectives for senior
management.
By adopting an approach which combines quantitative and qualitative risk adjustments thebank ensures that there is adequate alignment between its variable remuneration and risk.
Setting objectives at each level throughout the organisation strengthens the relationshipbetween individual decisions and behaviours and overall risk within the bank.
Part 3 (ex post risk adjustments)
The large wholesale bank awards variable remuneration to its staff on the basis ofperformance against pre-determined measures. Variable remuneration may consist of both
short- and long-term incentives as appropriate to the individual’s role.
For executive management, up to 40% of variable remuneration may be paid as short term
incentives. A minimum of 60% of total variable remuneration is deferred. Performance isassessed on the basis of financial metrics (weighted at 60%) and non-financial metrics(weighted at 40%). The key financial metrics include return on risk adjusted capital and total
shareholder return. The non-financial metrics include a mixture of risk, compliance andpeople/leadership objectives.
An award of variable remuneration is made in a given year to the Chief Executive andconsists of:

Short term incentives (STI – 30%)
Half the STI is paid out immediately as cash. The remaining half is deferred for 1
year and will be paid out as equity.
At the end of the 1 year deferral period, the board reviews the bank’s return on risk
adjusted capital and total shareholder return for the previous year. If either rate has
fallen below a pre-determined hurdle, the remaining STI is forfeited. Similarly, any
serious compliance breaches or risk issues during the deferral period will also resultin forfeiture. If the bank has remained within its specified range, the STI is paid out
as equity in the bank.

Long term incentives (LTI – 70%)
The LTI award is deferred for three to seven years and is all paid as bank equity. At
the end of the third year, the board reviews the bank’s performance using the returnon risk adjusted capital and total shareholder return for the past three years. If at
any point during the deferral period either return has fallen below the predeterminedhurdles, the incentive component due to vest (1/5 of the total LTI) will be forfeited.
Similarly, any serious risk or compliance issues will lead to a reduction in thevariable reward, including to zero.
At the end of each year, the board reviews the LTI remuneration due to vest against
the key return metrics for the past three years and determines whether any
downwards adjustments are necessary.

The board retains the ultimate right to require the Chief Executive to pay back any
vested variable remuneration in the event of extreme risk outcomes.

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration

53

Annex 5
Members of the SIG Task force on Remuneration

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Chairman

Mr Fernando Vargas

Australia

Mr David Lewis

Belgium

Mr Jo Swyngedouw

CanadaMr Ted PriceFranceMs Maud Abdelli

Germany

Mr Alexander Drung

Italy

Mr Paolo Mandurino
Ms Erlinda Oliverio

Japan

Mr Toshiyuki Miyoshi

Netherlands

Ms Annick Teubner

Saudi Arabia

Mr Mansour Al Najashi

Spain

Ms Eva Catarineu

Switzerland

Mr Oliver Wünsch

TurkeyMr Erdem Enisel

United Kingdom

Mr David Raikes
Ms Su-Lian Ho

United States

Mr Mark Carey
Ms Meg Donovan
Mr Clinton Lively
Ms Karen Kwilosz

Financial Stability Board

Ms Simonetta Ianotti

Secretariat

Mr Sylvain Cuenot

Range of Methodologies for Risk and Performance Alignment of Remuneration