Despite criticism of bankers' pay by some investors since the financial crisis has taken hold, fund managers have largely supported banks' pay packages over the past few years, according to the voting advisory firm Pirc, which found the 81.8% support recorded for HSBC's remuneration arrangements in May was the lowest yes-vote for a UK-listed bank since 2006.

In a report yesterday, Pirc noted that: "No UK-listed bank has ever lost a vote on a remuneration-related resolution or come anywhere close to doing so. The 'worst' results have still seen four fifths of votes cast in favour, and those have largely come since the start of the financial crisis."