Company: HBCYF
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001089113-25-000040
Chunk: 445

Company: HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 20-F
Chunk 445
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 actual shareholding is lower at the time of cessation, the actual shareholding upon departure). For this purpose,unvested shares which are not subject to forward-looking performance conditions (on a net of tax basis) will count towards theshareholding requirement. HSBC operates an anti-hedging policy under which individuals are not permitted to enter into any personalhedging strategies in relation to HSBC shares subject to a vesting and/or retention period. |
| Maximum opportunity     | Not applicable.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |

| HSBC Holdings plcAnnual Report on Form 20-F | 319 |

Committee discretion The Committee welcomes the recent consultation announced by the PRA and FCA to review the UK remuneration rules to improve the overall competitiveness of UK capital markets. The proposals cover a wide range of areas, including the application of deferral and retention periods, which are directly applicable to our policy design. Aligned to the key principles used by the Committee to set the policy, the Committee feel it is important that it retains discretion to amend the structure and terms of awards in the event of regulatory change to ensure the policy continues to meet the expectations of our regulators and it remains competitive versus peers. Where discretion is exercised by the Committee, changes will always be made in line with the key principles used to determine the policy. We will engage with major shareholders ahead of making any material change, and clearly disclose any changes and their rationale in our Annual Report and Accounts. One area discussed with shareholders as part of our engagement was how the Committee would exercise their discretion on the length and amount of deferral in the event of regulatory change. The Committee believe that deferral mechanisms and the requirements to deliver a substantial portion of variable remuneration in shares are critical policy design elements to ensure ongoing alignment between reward and the interests of our shareholders. We have therefore included in the policy a commitment to ensure that the weighted average time horizon of the deferral period for LTI awards is at least five years, in line with UK Corporate Governance requirements. In addition to the specific areas of discretion expressly set out in the policy table, the incentive plans include a number of operational areas of discretion available to the Committee, including: – the right to grant awards in the form of conditional share awards or options (including nil-cost options); – the right to amend a performance condition in accordance with its terms, or if anything happens that causes the Committee to consider it appropriate to do so; – the right to settle the award in cash, based on the relevant share price,