UniCredit may hike CEO’s pay by up to 40% – newspaper

MILAN, Feb 25 (Reuters) – UniCredit <CRDI.MI> is considering a pay rise of between 20% and 40% for Chief Executive Andrea Orcel, Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Saturday, citing market sources.

Orcel’s pay package would rise to 9.0-10.5 million euros ($9.5-11.1 billion) from 7.5 million euros at present. A final decision has not been made and it will hinge on feedback from investors, who are currently being consulted by the bank, the paper said.

UniCredit declined to comment.

UniCredit had indicated it would reassess Orcel’s remuneration ahead of its 2023 general meeting to see if the results achieved by the former UBS investment banking chief warranted an increase, a document on the bank’s website showed.

On his arrival at UniCredit in April 2021, Orcel narrowly dodged a shareholder revolt over his pay, which is double that of his predecessor. Leading investor advisory firms raised concerns over his salary again last year.

Orcel has focused UniCredit on businesses that maximise returns in relation to the capital allocated to such activities, in order to boost investor rewards through dividends and share buybacks.

UniCredit’s share price has more than doubled since Orcel’s arrival.

($1 = 0.9482 euros)

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