- Chief executive pay rose to £15.05m in 2025.
- Pre-tax profit climbed 13 per cent to £9.14bn.
- Bonus pool increased 15 per cent to £2.21bn.
Barclays’ chief executive C S Venkatakrishnan saw his pay climb 29 per cent to just over £15m in 2025, as the bank reported stronger-than-expected profits and set out fresh financial targets.
Venkat, as he is widely known, received total remuneration of £15.05m, up from £11.62m in 2024, according to the bank’s latest annual report. His package was 248 times the median pay of a Barclays employee, compared with 201 times a year earlier.
It is understood to be the largest payout for a Barclays chief since Bob Diamond received £17m in 2011.
Share awards drive the surge
The jump in headline pay was largely linked to long-term incentive plans, or LTIPs, that matured in 2025. These share-based awards were valued at £9.45m, compared with £6.23m in 2024, reflecting share price gains at the time they vested.
Venkat’s annual bonus rose from £2.22m to £3.3m. His base salary, however, fell from £2.94m to £2.06m following changes to pay structures for senior managers and so-called material risk takers.
The revision followed the Labour government’s decision to remove the cap on banker bonuses that had been introduced after the financial crisis.
Venkat, 60, took over in November 2021 after Jes Staley resigned amid a Financial Conduct Authority investigation into his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Chief financial officer Anna Cross also saw a sharp increase in pay. Her total package rose from £3.28m to £8.97m, largely due to £5.61m in LTIPs vesting for the first time since her appointment in 2022.
The bank’s overall bonus pool for 2025 increased 15 per cent to £2.21bn, up from £1.91bn in 2024. Meanwhile, UK shop floor staff covered by the Unite union were offered a 4 per cent pay rise for junior employees and 3.2 per cent overall.
Profits and payouts on the rise
The remuneration details came as Barclays posted a 13 per cent rise in annual pre-tax profit to £9.14bn. Profit for the final quarter increased 12 per cent to £1.86bn. Analysts had been expecting figures closer to £9bn for the year and £1.7bn for the quarter.
Looking ahead, Barclays said it is targeting a return on tangible equity of more than 14 per cent by 2028, compared with 11.3 per cent in the latest results.
The bank also outlined plans to return at least £15bn to shareholders between 2026 and 2028. For 2025, total capital distributions reached £3.7bn, 23 per cent higher than the previous year.
This includes a dividend of £1.2bn, or 8.6p a share, up 2 per cent year on year. Barclays said it intends to launch a further £1bn share buyback.
The figures underline a year of rising profits and higher rewards at the top, even as pay negotiations continue for staff across the business.
