The Group's remuneration strategy
SEB aims to attract and retain ambitious employees who are eager to continuously develop, embrace new ways of working and contribute to the bank's long-term success. Remuneration is part of the total offering that enhances SEB's attractiveness as an employer.
The overall ambition of the remuneration strategy is to promote long-term commitment to create sustainable value for customers and shareholders.
Remuneration structure
SEB's remuneration structure consists mainly of base salary, variable remuneration, pension and other benefits.
Base salary
The base salary is the foundation of an employee's remuneration. It shall be market aligned and reflect the requirements on the position and the employee's long-term performance. SEB conducts annual equal pay reviews to identify and close potential gaps in terms of gender-neutral pay. The outcome of the review is published internally.
Variable remuneration
All variable remuneration is based on SEB's risk-adjusted performance and is adapted to applicable rules governing the maximum ratio of variable remuneration to an employee's base salary, the deferred portion of remuneration, shares and fund units, and the right to withhold and reduce remuneration that has not yet been paid. SEB complies with the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) regulations on remuneration in financial companies, the Swedish Corporate Governance Code and Swedish and international regulations and guidelines in relevant parts. According to the regulations, SEB shall identify categories of staff whose professional activities have a material impact on the SEB's risk profile (Identified staff).
Remuneration policy
Remuneration is an important component of SEB's total employee offering where the aim is to attract and retain ambitious employees who are eager to continuously develop and embrace new ways of working. SEB's remuneration principles, structure and governance are laid out in the Remuneration Policy. An integral part of the policy is the emphasis on the alignment between remuneration and the bank's strategy, goals, behaviours and long-term interests, as well as the connection to individual performance. The goal is to build value for both SEB and the shareholders while promoting the best interest of the customers, encourage high performance and a level of risk-taking that is aligned with the level of risk tolerance set by the Board, as well as sound and responsible behaviour based on SEB's behaviours.
SEB believes in the total remuneration philosophy where each employee's position, sustained performance and value creation shall be reflected in an appropriate total remuneration. Consequently, the remuneration offering and its components are structured in different ways for different employee categories to create the best balance, taking interest of both customers and shareholders into account. Remuneration shall be competitive in the markets and segments where SEB operates in order to reward high performing employees.
SEB's remuneration structure, processes and reviews shall always support equal opportunities and secure non-bias, fair and transparent remuneration decision-making.
An employee's individual remuneration shall reflect the complexity, responsibility and leadership qualities required of the role as well as the individual's own performance. SEB regularly evaluates employee performance and development based on transparent and individual financial and non-financial targets, derived from the business plan and with SEB's behaviours as the starting point.
The policy also sets the requirements for all remuneration decisions, both in general and at the individual level. All decisions are to be approved at least at a level corresponding to the remuneration-setting managers' manager (grandparent principle).