21st May 2019 17:12
LONDON (Alliance News) - Metro Bank PLC shareholders sent a clear message to the lender Tuesday at its annual general meeting with over 20% of shareholders voting against director pay and the re-election of several board members.
At the bank's AGM held Tuesday, 21% of shareholders voted against the approval of Metro Bank's director remuneration report.
Voters also showed their disapproval of the bank's board, with 28% of shareholders voting against the re-election of Stuart Bernau and Eugene Lockhart, and 21% voted against the re-election of Anna Melis.
"Whilst the majority supported we are disappointed that some of our shareholders opposed these resolutions. Shareholder feedback is important to us and we will continue to engage constructively with them over the coming months to fully understand the rationale for the opposition to these resolutions," Metro Bank said.
No board member received over 90% of votes in favour of their re-election.
Last week, Legal & General expressed its intention to vote against the re-election of Chair Vernon Hill, for the second year running.
Hill received 12% votes against his re-election.
Metro Bank has come under pressure from regulators due to a lot of the lender's board approaching the end of their terms. Under the UK corporate governance code, a board member is allowed to sit on a company's board for nine years.
The bank has also come under increased pressure after UK regulators found an accounting error in its loan book at the start of the year.
In January, the lender announced it had underestimated the risk on its commercial loans and needed to raise capital to compensate for the shortfall and, as a result, was forced to issue an update highlighting the increased risk.
Shares in Metro Bank closed 7.6% higher Tuesday at 705.50 pence each. For 2019 to date, the shares are down 59%.
Related Shares:
Metro Bank