Lloyds shareholders urged to vote against CEO's pay

Lloyds Banking Group shareholders have been called upon to veto a “highly-excessive” £11.5million pay packet for CEO Antonio Horta-Osorio.

An advisory service on corporate governance for major investors, PIRC, issued the message before the bank’s AGM this Thursday: “The balance of CEO realized pay with financial performance is not considered acceptable … [it is] not commensurate with the change in total shareholder return over the same period,” said the note to clients. Alternative advisory boards are not thought to have raised any concerns.

Horta-Osorio’s compensation included a long-term incentive plan awarded in 2012 that was unable to be accessed until this year, but was also dependent on meeting performance criteria.  In January this year, HR Grapevine reported on Horta-Osorio’s pay, and quoted Lloyds as saying the following: “No decisions have yet been made.  Since the initial award, the share price has more than doubled, which has enabled taxpayers to start getting their money back.”