If you are an HSBC customer, you may want to follow this story. It’s not yet clear what the final number will be though it will be large enough to stand out during this recession. Again, why would anyone want to continue supporting such a bank?The Indepedent:

Last Friday, the bank confirmed that Mr Geoghegan would leave next March after it broke with 30 years of tradition and passed him over for the chairmanship.

In a statement, the UK’s largest company said Mr Geoghegan would be paid £1.42m, “pursuant to the notice provisions of his service contract”. He will also be eligible for a bonus, which will be calculated by the remuneration committee later in the year. Last year, Mr Geoghegan gave his £4m bonus to charity.

However, it emerged over the weekend that Mr Geoghegan will receive multiples of the amount announced by the bank on Friday, when longer-term incentive plans are added into the equation. The final value of the incentive plan is unknown and will depend on HSBC’s performance in the next few years, but estimates over the weekend ranged from £20m to £36m.

A spokesman for HSBC yesterday described reports that Mr Geoghegan could eventually pocket £36m as “inaccurate and sensationalist”.