London Borough of Croydon's pension fund is lobbying other local authorities to vote against directors pay at this year's Barclays AGM http://www.engagedinvestor.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=463021
The Council is to call on others to vote against bonuses for Barclays bank directors in protest at its forecast level of pension fund dividends this year. The council's pension fund investment committee intends to instruct its equity fund managers to vote against any directors' remuneration proposal at this year's Barclays AGM.
The move comes after the bank said it intended to pay a dividend of 2.5 pence a share, which is half a pence lower than anticipated by many pension fund managers.
Croydon, which currently holds about 140,000 shares in the bank, will also lobby other councils to instruct their pension fund managers to vote against bonuses for Barclays bankers at the meeting at the Royal Festival Hall in London on 27 April.
It intends to write to other councils in London urging them to register a protest against the global financial services company. We urge Active readers to demand your fund supports Croydon - you can do this by writing to your fund administrators.
The council has five equity managers with approximately £300m invested in stocks and shares. It is intended that they vote against directors' fees as a way of protesting at the levels of dividend paid to investors.
Councillor Dudley Mead, Croydon Council's cabinet member for resources, said: "Essentially, we are not entirely happy with the Barclays dividend forecast and we are trying to build a consensus to register ours and other councils' displeasure. "The public and businesses generally are getting a raw deal from the banks and now council pension funds are - at a time when there is enormous pressure on public finances."
