Pension groups urge firms to listen to investors on exec pay
INVESTOR groups complained yesterday that executive pay in the financial sector remains “wildly out of line” with the rest of the country.
Speaking the day before business secretary Vince Cable is due to unveil his plans to tighten up executive pay rules, bosses from the National Association of Pension Funds and other investing bodies told the Treasury Select Committee that boards need to do more to appease the shareholder spring.
The NAPF’s head of corporate governance David Paterson said investor rebellions such as the vote against pay at WPP should act as a “wake-up call for boards”.
And ABI director-general Otto Thoresen said that while some banks had made efforts to change pay for top staff, others were taking too long.
Cable is set to unveil measures designed to make firms more accountable for what they pay top staff, including a requirement to set out improvements if they suffer a substantial protest vote.