www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

   

Calls against big CEO pay grow louder

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-13 14:49

NEW YORK - Wall Street's high-rolling CEOs live a lifestyle that would make Hollywood movie stars jealous -- penthouse apartments, private jets, and paychecks tipping $60 million a year.

Corporate boards in recent years have rubber-stamped generous bonus packages for an elite set of executives, a reflection of a go-go stock market and soaring profits. Now, as the credit crisis roils Wall Street and decimates stock prices, shareholders are demanding a voice.

Fund managers and individual investors alike are campaigning for a "say on pay" rule giving shareholders a vote on executive compensation at major corporations, especially America's biggest banks. This is the latest salvo in the battle against Wall Street's exorbitance, and this time it appears shareholders might stand a chance.

Timothy Smith, a senior vice president at Boston-based Walden Asset Management, nearly pulled off a "say on pay" resolution at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s annual meeting Thursday. The proposal garnered 43 percent of the vote, despite strong recommendations for its rejection from Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and the investment bank's board.

"To us it appears that Wall Street has a severe rash, to which its boards, made up of corporate members, respond 'you scratch my back, and I will scratch yours," said Smith, whose firm owns 65,000 shares of Goldman Sachs.

Indeed, most boards these days are hand-picked by management and typically include executives from other companies. Goldman's board has former top executives from Sara Lee Corp., Medtronic Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Allstate Corp.

They might find the latest push on compensation difficult to ignore. Shareholders who voted in favor of "say on pay" represented a wide swath of big institutional investors, like mutual funds, foundations, and pensions.

Smith complimented Blankfein for navigating Goldman Sachs for the most part clear of the credit crisis, which has cost global banks nearly $200 billion in write-downs and led to the implosion of Bear Stearns Cos. However, he said -- "as owners of this company" -- shareholders should have a seat at the board.

Blankfein, who took home about $54 million in 2007, rejected the proposal, saying he didn't want anyone "less sophisticated and have less understanding" of the financial industry making decisions on pay. Goldman's top five executives were paid about $250 million total last year, including cash bonuses, stock awards and other compensation, according to the company's proxy statement.

"This would create a feedback loop. It would create a cloud, a constraint, a limitation on decisions that have been at the heart of what a board has done," he said at the company's annual meeting.

He likely hasn't seen the last of Smith, and CEOs across every industry are facing similar challenges as companies hold their annual meetings throughout April and May.

Some 100 companies -- from General Electric Corp. to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. -- will be voting on "say on pay" proposals, but the odds might not be in shareholders' favor. The average level of support for 51 say-on-pay-type resolutions in 2007 was 43 percent, according to RiskMetrics Group.

But shareholder-sponsored proposals rarely pass on the first vote and can sometimes take a few years before they catch on.

"These sort of proposals take about three to four years to gain acceptance," said Rich Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and pension investments at the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. "Goldman is one of a few companies that have done a good job in the middle of this credit crisis, but that's not to say shareholders shouldn't have a general right to ratify a compensation program as a check and balance system."

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Morgan Stanley both rejected proposals this past week. But there are companies whose shareholders have a say on compensation, such as Verizon Communications Inc., Blockbuster Inc., Apple Inc., and Aflac Inc.

The idea has also become a populist hot button for politicians -- especially for Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Obama demanded during a stop in Indianapolis Friday that company shareholders have a say in executive pay, and he wants Congress to pass legislation that would require it.

"This isn't just about expressing outrage," Obama said. "It's about changing a system where bad behavior is rewarded so that we can hold CEOs accountable, and make sure they're acting in a way that's good for their company, good for our economy, and good for America, not just good for themselves."



Top World News  
Today's Top News  
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
主站蜘蛛池模板: 日韩欧美国产高清在线观看 | 波多野结衣一区二区三区88 | 这里只有精品国产 | 在线亚洲精品国产成人二区 | 午夜看毛片 | a级片免费在线播放 | 久久精品成人一区二区三区 | 91成人啪国产啪永久地址 | 日韩一区二区三区在线 | 美女视频黄a视频免费全过程 | 国产一区二区三区毛片 | 一区二区视屏 | 另类视频在线观看 | 国产手机在线小视频免费观看 | 亚洲欧美中文日韩二区一区 | 日本www免费视频网站在线观看 | 精品国产品国语在线不卡丶 | 中文亚洲欧美 | 偷拍视频一区在线观看 | 性生i活一级一片 | 国产午夜免费视频 | 中文字幕在线视频观看 | 国产精品久久久久影视不卡 | 久久精品国产这里是免费 | 亚洲精品国产男人的天堂 | 欧美最新的精品videoss | 免费毛片a线观看 | 美女综合网 | 一级一片在线播放在线观看 | 99精品久久久久久 | 国产99久久亚洲综合精品 | 精品一区二区影院在线 | 亚洲成人免费网站 | 国产一级做a爰片在线看免费 | 欧美午夜不卡在线观看最新 | 久久美女精品国产精品亚洲 | 最新欧美精品一区二区三区 | 精品一区二区三区视频 | 欧美高清性刺激毛片 | 久久精品亚洲一区二区 | 另类欧美视频 |