1 day Ago
New York: Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s US$80mil retention bonuses for the firm’s top two leaders have drawn another prominent critic, with Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) urging investors to reject the rewards at an annual meeting. The incentives for chief executive officer David Solomon and president John Waldron “lack rigorous, pre-set performance criteria, which is particularly concerning for off-cycle awards with such large values”, the proxy adviser wrote in note to clients Monday. It accused the board of “poor practice” for adding new incentives before a prior programme is finished.
In a separate recommendation late last week, Glass Lewis described the latest bonuses as “excessive”. Goldman Sachs’s board has urged shareholders to endorse the incentives in an advisory vote at its April 23 meeting, with the firm citing “fierce” competition for talent. The package of restricted stock would reward the pair for sticking around five more years.
“The board took action to retain our current leadership team, to sustain our firm’s momentum and maintain a strong succession plan,” the company said in a statement after Glass Lewis’ earlier recommendation. — Bloomberg.
