HSBC's results were so disappointing its boss just took a pay cut

HSBC just reported a surprise loss in the fourth quarter - even though it had been actively paring back on costs and cutting jobs for years in order to save cash.

In fact, Europe's largest bank confirmed in a statement that income from lending fell and loan impairment charges rose, leading to a loss in the fourth quarter.

Overall, HSBC's 2015 financial results looked pretty flat and it warned of a gloomy future.

Its boss is even taking a pay cut.

Last week, the bank u-turned on a global pay freeze last week after a protest from employees, saying it would find cost savings elsewhere.

It then u-turned on the u-turn, refreezing salaries for thousands of UK-based managers,according to a report in the Financial Times.

HSBC said today that Gulliver will take a £300,000 pay cut to £7.3 million.

Meanwhile, HSBC this month also finally chose to keep its headquarters in the UK after a long-running relocation review. The bank, one of the world's largest by assets, considered Hong Kong, the US, and Canada in its list of potential new homes.

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