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The Goldman Sachs bonuses at CEO David Solomon and President John Waldron worth $ 80 million each “raise important concerns” and should be rejected by the shareholders of the bank, recommended the consulting company Glass Lewis.
In a report published late Friday, the proxy advisor declared that the prices of the duo, which the bank announced in January, “still exacerbated by their structure, the subsidies depositing historical use by the company price company based on performance”.
The bonuses will be fully paid in stock and will not be linked to the performance conditions, said the company.
While the “media titles” represented an “high poaching level” experienced at the bank, the shareholders had mainly received a “passout language” on the need for salary, said Glass Lewis.
“The absence of any disclosure surrounding these elements of such a substantial sentence is obvious and, on this basis, would justify a vote against this proposal this year,” he said in the report.
Goldman granted five -year detention bonuses to ensure that their two best executives stayed at the bank. Waldron’s price has cemented popular view among Wall Street observers that he is the most likely successor in Solomon.
The bonuses are separated from the annual remuneration of Solomon and Waldron, which totaled $ 39 million and $ 38 million last year respectively. They also overshadowed the recent awards paid to the heads of management of Jpmorgan and Morgan Stanley.
Inside Goldman, there have been concerns for weeks that investors have rejected the so-called word of disseil of remuneration at the annual general meeting of the investment bank on April 23 in Dallas, according to people familiar with the issue.
Goldman, whose main investors include Vanguard, Blackrock and State Street, said in a statement: “Competition for our talent is fierce. The board of directors has taken measures to maintain our current management team, to support the momentum of our company and maintain a solid succession plan.
The advisory vote, adopted within the framework of the financial regulation reforms of Dodd-Frank, is not binding. But if the shareholders voted no, this would represent a public reprimand for the bank.
In American banks, it is rare that investors vote against remuneration plans; In recent years, only JPMorgan Chase has faced such a rebellion. The shareholders were frustrated by a special price which should be worth around $ 50 million for the director general Jamie Dimon in 2022. JPMorgan later declared that he would not give special Dimon prices in the future.
In Goldman Sachs, shareholders’ support for its executive remuneration awards dropped to 86% in 2024, compared to 94% the previous year.
Glass Lewis also warned the shareholders of the new plan to compensate for interests for managers. The complexity of the plan makes it more difficult for shareholders to assess the remuneration agreements before the premiums are paid, said the firm.
