Investor vote on Narev bonus

SHAREHOLDERS in Commonwealth Bank will next month decide if boss Ian Narev can be paid up to $4.7 million in shares as a bonus.

SHAREHOLDERS in Commonwealth Bank will next month decide if boss Ian Narev can be paid up to $4.7 million in shares as a long-term bonus. The bank needs shareholder approval to grant shares to its chief executive as performance-based incentives. A vote is typically held at the annual general meeting to approve each year’s plan.

Under the latest scheme, Mr Narev stands to be awarded rights to up to 58,131 shares, worth a maximum of $4.7m, if he meets shareholder return and customer satisfaction targets in the coming three years.

Last year, shareholders approved an incentive plan for Mr Narev that included rights to shares worth up to $4.3m.

He already earns an annual salary of $2.6m, and last year also took home a cash bonus of $1.5m, plus $4.05m from bonuses earned in previous years.

That was despite his bonuses being cut by more than $500,000 due to CBA’s financial planning scandal, for which the bank has already paid around $52m in compensation to customers.

CBA’s shareholder meeting in Melbourne on November 12 will also include a vote on investor activist Stephen Mayne’s bid to join the bank’s board.

Mr Mayne has indicated he will seek to join the boards of several major companies in the coming months, in an effort to improve shareholder rights.

His bid for the CBA board is also a response to the bank’s financial advice problems, but the board has advised investors to vote against his election.

They have also recommended a no vote on a request for CBA to regularly state the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the companies it finances.

AAP