Pressure is piling up on Lloyds TSB shareholders to vote against the bank’s remuneration policy at the annual general meeting next Friday (5 June).
The UK Shareholders Association (UKSA) has written to UK Financial Investments, the government-owned firm that controls a 43% stake in the banking giant, to ask them to block the bank’s bonus and rewards policy.
The move comes just weeks after the Shell shareholder revolt against the oil giant’s executive pay policy. One-third of shareholders at media group Pearson also voted against the firm’s remuneration policy in May.
UKSA said the Lloyds remuneration report had some “token gestures” for reforming executive pay, but the proportion of bonuses in total remuneration was still too high. Two-thirds of expected remuneration was still being paid in bonuses.
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A UKSA spokesman told Personnel Today: “There are lots of people in the government that say they would like to change remuneration policy. But when they have the power, they don’t seem to be using it appropriately.”
Shareholders rarely reject company remuneration reports but anger has mounted over tumbling share prices. However, shareholder votes are not usually binding.
