HSBC banker paid near $20 million for 2008

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC paid one of its bankers 13.7 million pounds ($19.5 million) last year and another banker received more than 11 million pounds, the bank's annual report showed on Monday.

Both bankers were recruited by HSBC's investment bank in the United States in 2007 and their pay was swelled by compensation for loss of earnings and bonus from their previous jobs and a guaranteed bonus for the first year, HSBC said.

Two people familiar with the matter said the they were Tom Cole and Daniel Toscano, both hired by the leveraged finance division from Deutsche Bank in September 2007.

HSBC did not name the bankers.

The bank poached the two to head its U.S. leveraged and acquisition finance business, handling bond and loan issuance for companies and buyouts. They started at HSBC in January 2008.

The payouts were well above the 1.67 million pounds paid to Chief Executive Mike Geoghegan and the 1.26 million paid to Chairman Stephen Green. Both Geoghegan and Green took home less than half of what they received a year earlier.

HSBC said none of its executives would receive a bonus for 2008, despite the fact that, unlike many global banks, it made a profit last year.

Profits were, however, less than half what they had been a year earlier and the bank on Monday launched an $18 billion rights issue to boost its capital.

There has been intense public and political scrutiny on the pay of top bankers and directors after many firms had to be rescued with taxpayer cash and others have seen profits fall.

Unlike most rivals, HSBC disclosed in its annual report how much it paid its top five employees as well as its directors, although it does not name them.

The top earner in 2008 was paid between 13.7 million and 13.8 million pounds, while the second highest received 11 million to 11.1 million pounds. A third took home between 3.2 million and 3.3 million pounds and the next two employees were paid 2.8 million and 2.6 million.

The bank's top earner in 2007 was paid 10 million pounds.

($1=.7014 Pound)

(Reporting by Steve Slater; Writing by Paul Hoskins; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)