The Unicredit board of directors squares around the managing director, Andrea Orcel, and the stock soars on the stock market, earning almost 4% in Piazza Affari, close to the highs of the last 7 years. The stock was shaken by the resignation of the former chairman of UniCredit’s remuneration committee, Jayne-Anna Gadhia, who – according to a reconstruction by the Financial Times – would have left her post after being accused of having disclosed confidential information a few days after the decision of the board on the salary of the CEO Andrew Orcel.
Officially, Gadhia left her post following “the assumption of a new position and the consequent greater commitment that will be required of her” having been appointed president of Moneyfarm at the end of January, but the City newspaper underlines how the decision came a month after the appointment and in conjunction with the decision on the manager’s salary which could go from 7 to 10 million euros a year. Also at the FT, the president of the bank, the former minister Pier Carlo Padoan declared that “Orcel has not asked for any increase”. However, no requests should come from the manager: decisions on remuneration start from the board.
Also for this reason, Gadhia’s decision would be linked to the feeling of not being able to keep her job “for reasons of principle” after having ended up in the crosshairs of the bank’s internal investigations, even if the charges “had subsequently been withdrawn”. Unicredit, in fact, made it known that «the board of directors was concerned by a series of leaks that damaged the bank and the hard work of its employees. As required by best practices”, therefore, “the board of directors conducted an in-depth internal audit” which “did not lead to results”.
In any case, the board is «very clear about its fiduciary duties and obligations and has taken clear actions and further strengthened its already robust policies to ensure the proper handling of confidential information in order to uphold the highest standards of corporate governance throughout the bank”.
Enough to convince the markets that the top management of the group are all rowing in the same direction. Also in view of next March 1 when the remuneration policy will be published: the day after tomorrow, therefore, an increase from 20 to 40% of his salary could emerge for Orcel. A “premium” linked to the results which recorded a profit of 5.2 billion euros – the highest in a decade – and saw a 75 million cut in consultancy expenses. Results that the company manager would like to see recognized. Even despite the resistance of American funds.