Bank of America shareholders voted to allow chief executive officer Brian Moynihan to remain in both the chairman and CEO positions, but Moynihan lost the votes of more than a third of shareholders.
Roughly 63% of BofA investors voted on Tuesday to keep Moynihan in both roles. The long-awaited meeting in North Carolina lasted less than a half an hour.
The controversy stems from decisions made going back to the financial crisis.
In 2009, BofA’s shareholders voted to strip the chairman title from then CEO Ken Lewis, as a vote of no-confidence in Lewis.
BofA’s board of directors voted last year to combine the CEO/chairman roles again under Moynihan, saying the combined role was more appropriate for how the company was being managed. But activist shareholders argued that the board’s decision went against what shareholders had voted for in 2009.
Thirty-seven percent of the bank’s investors voted against the proposal to rejoin the CEO and chairman titles. Prior to the vote the CtW Investment Group urged BofA shareholders to reject the bank’s position.
CtW Investment Group governance director Michael Pryce-Jones said: “Even though it mustered a majority, Bank of America’s leadership emerges wounded and weakened from today’s shareholder vote. The bank failed to secure the overwhelming victory it needed to show that it has investors’ confidence.
“The bank has a long road back to credibility, and it can start restoring shareholder trust by initiating real reforms to its board.”
