It's been a big day for Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shareholders. The ASX's oldest bank held its annual general meeting this morning, and it's one for the books.
As we covered earlier today, both Westpac's CEO and Chair apologised to shareholders for the company's recent poor performance. Not only has the Westpac share price lost around 20% since the start of November. But the bank also copped a $113 million fine last month for allegedly charging deceased customers financial advice fees.
Westpac chair John McFarlane apologised "unreservedly on behalf of the Board" for the recent underperformance. But shareholders were evidently not in a forgiving mood. 66.11% of shareholders voted in favour of Westpac's remuneration report. That meant 28.5% of shareholders voted against it. Since the 'no' vote was more than the 25% stipulated under the Corporations Act 2001, this counts as a 'first strike' for Westpac.
Image source: Getty Images
Westpac cops 'first strike' at AGM
If a 'second strike' is passed next year (another 25% or higher 'no' vote on remuneration), it will result in an automatic board spill motion.
As we tocuhed on this morning, the Australian Shareholders Association (ASA) voted no on remuneration. It stated the following on why the ASA has taken issue with Westpac:
The last few years for WBC and their stakeholders has been tough, and unfortunately, there are still significant issues on Westpac's plate which the company acknowledges.
With all their transformation programs, as they turn over stones, more issues reveal themselves. It is considered that the problems have not been fixed fast enough… it is very concerning what customers have suffered, and both stakeholder groups, customers and shareholders, have a right to be angry.
Westpac share price snapshot
Despite this strike vote at Westpac's AGM, the bank's shares had a decent day of trading today. The Westpac share price ended up closing at $20.99, up 0.29% for the day. That puts its 2021 gains at around 7% year to date. Westpac shares are also up 4.5% over the past 12 months, but have slid a depressing 35% or so over the past 5 years.
At today's closing share price, Westpac has a market capitalisation of $77.04 billion, with a dividend yield of 5.62%.
