October 19, 2009
The Goldman Sachs Bonuses: Immediate Shareholder Activism
– Broc Romanek, CompensationStandards.com
Last Thursday, Goldman Sachs reported that it was putting aside $23 billion from this year’s bonus pool. And the anger was palpable. Here is Paul Hodgson’s take from “The Corporate Library” Blog. And here are some scathing thoughts from Rob Shapiro, as posted on the Huffington Post. This NY Times article explains Goldman’s public relations bind – and this Washington Post article notes how Obama Administration officials bashed banker pay over the weekend.
None of these responses are surprising. What is surprising is the speed by which a shareholder proposal was submitted to Goldman. Within hours of the news breaking on Thursday, this “pay disparity” proposal was submitted by the co-sponsors of Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel and The Nathan Cummings Foundation (here is the related press release). I think we can expect continued anger over executive pay throughout this upcoming proxy season. I think it’s an issue that’s not going to fade away as it has in the past…