ASX’s board of directors has narrowly avoided a second strike at its annual meeting on Thursday, with 21 per cent of shareholders voting against the remuneration report in a strong protest as the exchange struggles to restore trust after announcing it had bungled the CHESS replacement project 11 months ago.

The vote just missed the 25 per cent threshold required to trigger a spill vote for the whole board. Many retail shareholders followed the Australian Shareholders’ Association’s advice to vote down the remuneration report. Last year, ASX received a first strike when around 30 per cent of shareholders gave it the thumbs down.