INFLUENCE OF EMPLOYEE STOCK OPTIONS ON BANKS PERFORMANCE

Abstract

The paper presents ‘employee stock option’ (ESO) plans in selected European countries and in the United States. The purpose of the paper is to show how those programs influence the company’s performance. To prove the outcome of the analysis presented in the paper, the author has analysed the data from a group of six banks from 2009 to 2010. Half of the banks in the group implemented the ESOs. The analysis was divided into two parts, one dealing with the financial result of the company, while the other focused on the manner of implementation of such programs and their influence on the share price of such companies in order to show how the market reacts to the introduction of ESOs. The conclusions are that banks that used ESOs are more profitable and bring higher returns in stock markets.