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Goldman Sachs received the lowest support level of shareholders for the payment packages of their executives in almost a decade, after criticism of the bonuses for executive president David Solomon and President John Waldron for a value of $ 80mn each.
In a so -called payment vote at the annual general meeting of Goldman on Wednesday, 66 percent of the votes supported the payment plans of the investment bank, the lowest support level since 2016.
The vote also marks the lowest support for the salary proposals of a United States bank since 2022, when JPMorgan Chase shareholders rebelled on the remuneration package of executive director Jamie Dimon.
That year, only one third of JPMorgan’s shareholders supported Dimon’s payment, which included a special prize for approximately $ 50 million at that time. JPMorgan later said I would not give its CEO special awards in the future.
While the Goldman The vote is not binding, the level of silenced support reflects the concern of investors with the bank’s plans to pay their two main retention bonds of executives more similar to a private capital group.
Glass Lewis power advisors and institutional shareholders had recommended that shareholders vote against payment plans.
Goldman, whose greatest shareholders include Vanguard, Blackrock and State Street, granted five -year retention bonds to Solomon and Waldron in January.
The Awards for Solomon and Waldron, which reached their annual payment of $ 39mn and $ 38mn respectively, have added the speculation that Waldron is It is more likely to happen to Solomon as executive director.
Glass Lewis criticized the bank for not linking the awards to performance metrics. Goldman had defended the awards, saying that they were necessary to retain their superior talent and that paying 100 percent in shares meant that they were aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
The Sovereign Fund of Norway’s wealth, the 15th largest shareholder in Goldman, said he had voted against salary packages.
“He [company’s] The Board must provide transparency in total remuneration to avoid unacceptable results, “said Norges Bank Investment Management.” The Board must ensure that all benefits have a clear commercial justification. “
Valsrs, a great Californian pension fund, also said he voted against Goldman’s salary.