banks Archives

Bailout Barons’ Bounty

The top five executives at the 20 US banks that have accepted the most bailout support averaged $32 million each in personal compensation in the period 2006 -2008, according to a new study published by the Washington-DC based Institute for Policy Studies. At the same time more that 160,000 employees have lost their jobs. In 2008, the […]

US Bank Boards after the crisis

A research study by Manifest’s US partners, PROXYGovernance Inc(PGI), reveals some interesting trends about US board governance. PGI’s review of Russell 3000 companies holding their 2009 annual meeting prior to July 1 reveals that boards of financial services firms have added fewer new directors since the sub-prime credit crisis began than boards in any other major sector. […]

He who shouts loudest: who’s pulling the strings of cross-border voting reform?

Any choral singer will be familiar with the concept: a choir singing an acapella section will often naturally go ‘flat and lose pitch’, only to have to painfully re-adjust pitch when the orchestra joins in. Conversely, if the orchestra were to be playing in the wrong key (as a violinist and singer, a cruel but amusing […]

Sir David Walker’s 39 Steps

Sir David Walker’s review of the governance of UK banks, commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has published 39 recommendations aimed at improving the governance of banks and other big financial institutions (BOFIs). The aim of the report was to find ways of minimising risky behaviour and improving the way companies and shareholder communicate and interact. Many of the […]

Britain’s Bankers: Still Cashing In

Earlier this year Manifest was approached by Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary team to help them with a review of executive pay following the revelations of Sir Fred Goodwin’s pension arrangements. In this episode, “Britain’s Bankers: Still Cashing In”, Manifest works with journalist Jane Moore to help her understand the complexities of executive pay and look back […]

Treasury Select Committee calls for governance overhaul

Banks were ownerless corporations whose shareholders gave their governance role a low priority. That’s just one of the damning conclusions from the UK’s Treasury Committee which has released its third report on the Banking Crisis. The report entitled “Banking Crisis: reforming corporate governance and pay in the City” has a wide brief looking not just at City pay […]

All Change At The Top Of Europe’s Banks

Half of Europe’s biggest banks have changed their chief executive or chairman in the past 12 months, leaving question marks over their leadership experience just as the first signs emerge of an economic recovery. Ten of Europe’s 20 largest banks by market capitalization or scale of investment banking operations have appointed new heads during the […]

Agius against vote highest for FTSE 100 Chairman in over five years

The Times sources Manifest data today in it’s report on the Barclays AGM. The vote against the Chairman was the largest against vote recorded on the election of a FTSE 100 Chairman during the last five years. Some 16.14% of votes cast were against his re-election, while a further 0.92% of those voting abstained. If […]

Dutch Finance Minister Bos Slams Shareholders

Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos today hit out at shareholders for doing ‘virtually nothing’ to prevent the current financial crisis. Speaking to the International Corporate Governance conference in Amsterdam, Bos used the platform as an opportunity to make a forthright attack on the role of shareholders in the current financial crisis: “The financial crisis is […]

UK Banks: Votes below FTSE 100 average

Manifest has recently published its findings on voting at UK shareholder meetings in 2008 and this prompted suggestions that we should make a submission to UK’s Treasury Select Committee on the Banking Crisis. The Committee is still taking evidence and we were asked to address the issue of voting at UK Bank AGMs to see […]