Oct 22 (Reuters) - A majority of Insurance Australia Group (IAG) shareholders turned down the insurer's executive pay proposition at its annual meeting on Friday, rejecting plans for bonuses and pay rises to executives having reported significant losses in the year.
The Sydney-based insurer incurred an annual net loss https://bit.ly/3vBg7by of A$427 million ($319.05 million) due to pandemic-related claims and class action settlements, resulting in nearly 38% lower shareholder returns compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Outgoing chairperson Elizabeth Bryan apologised in the annual general meeting address to shareholders for lower returns, but cited "fairness" and "motivation" as reasons for deciding to reward its executives nonetheless.
"We held to the principle that senior executives should be held responsible for failures on their watch and made significant downward adjustments to their remuneration," Bryan said in her address.
Notwithstanding the cuts, the remuneration plans sought to give base pay rise and bonus to chief executive officer Nick Hawkins, among other executives. More than 57% of IAG shareholders voted against its adoption.
Investors around the world have become more vocal in their opposition to boardroom pay deals they deem excessive amid society's broader struggles in the pandemic.
If shareholders once again reject IAG's pay plans next year, under the Australian corporate law, they would be entitled to hold a subsequent vote on whether to oust its entire board.
On Thursday, shareholders of the troubled casino operator Crown Resorts (CWN) too voted against its executive pay plans for a second straight year, but turned down the follow-up option to fire the entire board.
In May, Rio Tinto shareholders also rejected the global miner's executive pay packages in a backlash over its destruction of ancient rock shelters in Western Australia in 2020.
($1 = 1.3383 Australian dollars)
