Barclays' Bob Diamond Gets £6.3m Bonus And Pay Packet

Bonus Rounds! £6.3m For Barclay's Bob Diamond

Barclays' boss Bob Diamond is to pocket a £6.3m in pay and bonuses for 2011, sparking more anger over the scale of rewards in the City.

The chief executive's total pay includes a £1.35m salary, a bonus of £2.7m and long-term incentives of £2.2m.

His bonus was 80% of the total entitlement after the bank reported a 3% fall in profits to £5.9bn in 2011, while the payment protection insurance scandal also affected his award.

The bonus is less than the £6.5m he received last year, but the pay-out will anger critics after the bank was last week accused by HMRC of trying to avoid paying more than £500 million in tax, in schemes described as "highly abusive" dodges.

The massive payout comes despite Diamond's own admission that the bank's return on equity in 2011 as "unacceptable", the Daily Telegraph reported.

However, the chief executive - once described as the "unacceptable face of capitalism" by Peter Mandelson - was not the highest paid member of staff at the bank. Two other unnamed executives, thought likely to be Rich Ricci and Jerry del Missier, who jointly run its investment banking divisions, received total pay-outs of £6.7m and £6.5m.

None of the bonuses will be paid out until next year, but BBC business editor Robert Peston pointed out Diamond could be paid more than has been announced through the group's long-term incentive plan.

As well as his £6.3m total pay-out for 2011, Barclays also paid Diamond a £5.7m 'tax equalisation charge' after he moved from the US to the UK to take on the chief executive's role.

Diamond's £2.7m bonus will not be paid in cash but in shares, which will vest in three years' time. And the deal will be subject to 'clawback', which means Barclays will be able to reduce the pay-out if any problems come to light before the pay-out.

His bonus was not affected by the HMRC's tax avoidance claims, which Barclays said will be taken into consideration for his pay-out in 2012.

The bank, which has already come under fire for not reducing bonus payments enough, also revealed that the average bonus for employees at its investment banking arm Barclays Capital was down 30% to £64,000, despite a 32% fall in profits at the arm.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said of today's award: "This bonus epitomises how banks have failed the wider economy and got away with it.

"People are sick of seeing money that should be spent supporting businesses being lavished on the very people that brought our economy to its knees a few years ago.

"Ministers must do more to force banks to prioritise supporting the real economy over enriching their senior staff."

Separately, Lloyds have said its highest paid executive earned £2.8m in 2011.

Spokesman for the Robin Hood Tax campaign David Hillman said: "The pockets of Bob Diamond and his fellow bankers are busting at the seams from their multi-million pound pay packets, whilst the Exchequer is being left short by the bank's tax avoidance measures.

"The government's stand-off approach to ensuring banks pay their fair share to society isn't working."

And shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Labour would repeat the bankers' bonus tax to create 100,000 jobs for young people.

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