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Following is a question by Dr the Hon Joseph Lee and a written reply by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, in the Legislative Council today (February 4):
Question:
According to the remuneration policies of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), variable pay will be awarded to staff in accordance with their performance, in addition to fixed pay. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the total variable pay awarded to staff by HKMA in each of the past five years, together with a breakdown by rank;
(b) of the criteria adopted by the Financial Secretary (FS) for reviewing the amount of variable pay to be awarded by HKMA each year; and
(c) whether FS will, in considering the variable pay to be awarded by HKMA, take into account its recent performance in the handling of the Lehman Minibonds incident, the rate of return on investments of the Exchange Fund, as well as the supervision of banks; if he will, on the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) Variable Pay, where approved, is paid to HKMA staff in April each year, reflecting the performance of the HKMA in the preceding calendar year. The total Variable Pay awarded to HKMA staff, together with a breakdown by rank, in 2003-07 is as follows:
Variable Pay that reflected performance
Rank of the HKMA in 2003-07
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2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
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Chief $1.9 mn $2.6 mn $2.6 mn $2.7 mn $3.2 mn
Executive (22.8%) (27.3%) (27.3%) (27.3%) (28.6%)
Deputy $1.6 mn $4.1 mn $3.8 mn $4.6 mn $4.2 mn
Chief (15.8%) (25.1%) (22.5%) (24.8%) (21.5%)
Executives
Executive $4.3 mn $5.2 mn $6.4 mn $7.0 mn $8.6 mn
Directors (12.8%) (15.4%) (16.8%) (17.2%) (17.8%)
Division $4.4 mn $7.5 mn $11.0 mn $13.5 mn $14.9 mn
Heads (7.4%) (12.1%) (15.6%) (17.3%) (18.3%)
Senior $5.4 mn $11.0 mn $14.6 mn $19.9 mn $23.8 mn
Managers (7.4%) (12.8%) (15.9%) (17.9%) (18.9%)
Managers $6.6 mn $11.6 mn $16.4 mn $20.4 mn $24.2 mn
(9.1%) (9.8%) (15.9%) (16.0%) (14.1%)
Assistant $2.1 mn $3.0 mn $3.4 mn $4.2 mn $4.8 mn
Managers (7.8%) (11.3%) (12.9%) (15.1%) (15.3%)
Technical $3.5 mn $5.1 mn $6.1 mn $7.5 mn $7.5 mn
Officers (10.3%) (13.6%) (14.9%) (15.0%) (14.4%)
Secretarial
and other $1.8 mn $3.0 mn $3.6 mn $3.8 mn $4.1 mn
support (6.1%) (9.8%) (11.5%) (12.7%) (12.7%)
staff
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Total $31.6 mn $53.0 mn $67.8 mn $83.7 mn $95.3 mn
(8.9%) (13.7%) (16.0%) (17.4%) (17.7%)
Note: the percentages in brackets refer to the Variable Pay as a percentage of Total Pay
(b) The Financial Secretary will consider the recommendations of the Governance Sub-Committee (GSC) of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee (EFAC), the findings of independent consultants on pay trends and pay levels in the financial sector, the GSCˇ¦s assessment of the performance of the HKMA during the preceding year, as well as other factors as appropriate, when determining the Variable Pay payable to HKMA staff each year. The performance of individual staff members would also be taken into account in distributing any approved Variable Pay.
(c) When assessing the performance of the HKMA in 2008, the GSC of the EFAC will take into consideration the effectiveness of the HKMA in carrying out its policy objectives (i.e., maintaining monetary stability, promoting the safety and stability of the banking system, and enhancing the efficiency, integrity and development of the financial system), including its performance in the areas set out in the question. The Financial Secretary will take account of the GSCˇ¦s assessment and make an appropriate decision.
Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:24
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