A pedestrian looks at his phone as he walks past a logo for Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp located outside a branch in central Sydney, Australia, November 5, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray
(Reuters) – Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp will receive a protest vote against its executive remuneration plans, the bank’s chairman said on Wednesday.
More than half of its shareholders may be against a resolution to approve executive bonuses, Chairman Lindsay Maxsted said, citing votes already received.
Under Australian corporate rules, if more than a quarter of shareholders vote against a pay proposal for two years running, they can call for the board to be removed.
“This means we will incur a first strike. This sends a strong message to the board,” Maxsted said in a statement.
Westpac, which like many of its big banking peers is under fire from Australian regulators for impropriety, lowered short-term variable incentives for its CEO and executives by 25 percent on average in 2018, Maxsted added.
Last month, the country’s No.2 lender reported flat growth in full-year cash earnings, principally due to higher costs related to refunds and legal services in the wake of a public inquiry into financial sector misconduct.
Westpac shares, which have shed about 20 percent so far this year, were up slightly at 0244 GMT on Wednesday in a higher overall market.
Reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Himani Sarkar