HSBC could be in breach of best practice on pay, shareholders of the UK bank have been warned, ahead of the vote at the annual meeting on remuneration at the end of the month.

The Association of British Insurers, which represents about a fifth of UK investors, including some of HSBC’s biggest shareholders, has sent out an “amber top” alert on the bank’s remuneration report. This comes after big shareholders expressed concerns that HSBC had lowered performance targets on executive bonuses while increasing the potential total remuneration. One investor said: “We are concerned: the bank has lowered targets and increased the quantum of the bonuses at the wrong time.”