R106m pay cheque for one man: Here’s how Standard Bank pays its top employees

2026-03-16 - 10:43

Nothing says you are a C-suite executive like a remuneration package divided among fixed annual salaries, short-term bonuses, shares or stock options, sign-on bonuses, and exit pay, all costing the company millions of rand for a single individual. A C-suite executive is a senior company leader whose title usually starts with “chief”. Standard Bank has Sim Tshabalala as group chief executive officer (CEO), Arno Daehnke as chief financial officer (CFO), Margaret Nienaber as chief operating officer (COO), six divisional CEOs, and three other C-suite executives. Standard Bank spends R497m on 7 employees According to the bank’s Annual Financial Statement for the financial year 2025, seven C-suite executives cost Standard Bank more than R497 million. R429 million is allocated to bonuses, with most of the funds going to long-term incentive awards from March 2023 under the bank’s performance reward plan (PRP). These were subject to performance conditions measured over the period between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025. “PRP units awarded in March 2023 were subject to performance conditions measured over the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025 and will vest in March 2026,” read the report. ALSO READ: Absa’s Kenny Fihla gets R98.5m buyout award after joining from rival Sim Tshabalala costs Standard Bank R100m a year According to the report, Tshabalala’s remuneration package cost Standard Bank more than R106 million for the period, with more than 60% of this coming from the PRP awards that will vest this month. The 58-year-old received a fixed annual salary of more than R11.6 million, Employer retirement contributions of R358 000, and benefits and allowances of R242 000. Tshabalala was set to receive these amounts despite Standard Bank’s performance. Out of the R106 million he received, more than R94 million came from his bonuses, some of the money was paid in cash, while some was in shares/stock options. His long-term incentives cost more than R67 million. Remuneration packages of Funeka Montjane, CEO of Personal and Private Banking; Bill Blackie, CEO of Business and Commercial Banking; Luvuyo Masinda, CEO of Corporate and Investment Banking; and Yuresh Maharaj, CEO of Insurance and Asset Management. Picture: Screenshot of report. CFO gets nearly R80m The bank’s CFO, Daehnke, received a remuneration package worth more than R79 million for the period, with more than R45 million being long-term incentive awards. Daehnke received a fixed annual salary of R8.3 million, Employer retirement contributions worth R833 000, and other benefits and allowances worth R490 000. The rest of the money is made up by bonuses, with short-term incentives amounting to R24.2 million. This is an increase in his total remuneration package from R68.3 million in 2024. Tshabalala and Daehnke are set to retire by the end of 2027. ALSO READ: FirstRand increases banking employee salaries to R21k per month, CEO earns R933k COO gets R10m increase COO Nienaber is the third-highest-paid executive at Standard Bank. Her remuneration package cost the bank more than R72.2 million in 2025, an increase of nearly R10 million from the R62.5 million she earned in 2024. The report states that her fixed annual salary amounted to R7.8 million, employer retirement contributions of R609 000, and other benefits and allowances of R293 000. The rest of the funds went to short-and long-term incentives. Nienaber joined the group in 2010 as head of Private Clients South Africa. Since then, she has held various positions, including global head of Wealth and Investment, and chief executive of Wealth. Employees cost R51 billion According to the Companies Amendment Act, signed into law in July 2024, it requires public and state-owned companies to disclose how much the executives, directors and ordinary employees get paid. The aim of the amendment is to give shareholders and the public a clearer view of pay gaps within companies and to improve accountability around executive remuneration. Standard Bank, in its Annual Financial Statement for the year ended 31 December 2025, reported that staff salaries and wages amounted to R51 billion. This represents an increase from R48.3 billion in 2024. The bank increased its minimum salary from 1 March 2025. “The minimum banking guaranteed package has also been increased to R258 390 per annum from R244 920,” said the bank at the time. READ NEXT: Here’s how much it will cost you to apply for Smart ID at these bank branches