"I am an MD who lost my job at HSBC. My severance pay was huge"
I read here yesterday that when HSBC cut 134 material risk takers (MRTs) as it pulled out of M&A and equity capital markets in the US and EMEA, it paid average severance of $504k.
Personally, I think this understated the reality.
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I was among the 134 let go. My severance included a cash payment of around $504k but I also got all my stock. When my stock was added, I received over $1m.
Many of us MRTs had a lot of stock, so I know that I wasn't the only one receiving seven figures when I left HSBC.
The stock came with vesting conditions. If I joined another firm immediately, I wouldn't get it. Some people decided it was too risky to wait in an uncertain job market and just walked away. I took a longer term approach and waited until the stock vested before moving into a job I'd already lined up.
Leaving HSBC was therefore very lucrative indeed for me. I wish I could do it every year.
Clive Pettifrew is a pseudonym
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