Nearly 40 per cent of investors voted against Standard Chartered’s executive pay policy at its AGM in protest over a change in how it calculates its top executives' pensions.
During its AGM yesterday (May 9), 36 per cent of investors voted against the company’s directors' remuneration policy, but this rose to 38 per cent including abstentions.
This was in protest over a change in the way the bank calculates pensions for top executives including, Bill Winters, chief executive, and Andy Halford, finance director.
Mr Winters is expected to receive a pension cash allowance of £474,000 in 2019, up from £460,000 last year.
In its 2018 annual report the bank said this was equivalent to 20 per cent of his total salary, which is calculated by combining his cash salary of £1.185m and a share payment of the same amount.
But last year, executive pension allowances were calculated by dividing them only by basic salary alone. Using the old method, Mr Winters' pension was reported as 40 per cent of his cash salary.
Standard Chartered said: "The new remuneration policy was developed following extensive consultation by the remuneration committee with major shareholders, proxy advisers and shareholder representative organisations.
"We put forward to shareholders a policy we believe is responsible and is in the best interests of the company in the long-term. Whilst the majority of institutional shareholders expressed their support during the consultation process, we were aware that certain shareholders were not supportive of all aspects of the new policy.
"We will continue to engage with shareholders on these important issues and on their concerns with the new policy in the forthcoming months. We will publish an update on that engagement within six months of the AGM."
amy.austin@ft.com
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