To: Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, Michael Corbat, CEO of Citigroup, and James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley
Tell Big Banks to Be Transparent About Executive Payouts
The AFL-CIO recently filed a shareholder proposal at your institution asking for more transparency regarding compensation package practices for executives who leave for high-level government jobs. You in turn asked the SEC for permission to omit the proposal so you can continue to keep the details of this practice secret.
You should be willing to let shareholders and the public see all the facts and judge for themselves. Please drop your opposition to this proposal and give shareholders the opportunity to vote for greater transparency in your executive compensation practices.
Why is this important?
The AFL-CIO recently filed proposals to let big-bank shareholders demand greater transparency around golden parachute practices that make huge payouts available to executives who leave big banks for top posts in government. The banks reacted in panic and are working as we speak to persuade the Securities and Exchange Commission to step in, allowing them to keep their policies a secret and their shareholders in the dark.
Wall Street executive, Antonio Weiss, was recently in line to receive a $20 million bonus from his investment-bank employer for agreeing to take a Treasury Department undersecretary position. Weiss, who eventually took an advisory job that did not require Senate confirmation, is only the latest in a series of would-be and actual public officials who have stood to benefit from these “golden parachute” deals.
When bankers get large bonuses for taking government jobs, it sends a dangerous message about who is really calling the shots. If the big banks think these practices are defensible, they should let their shareholders know the facts and judge for themselves.
Sign our petition and call for Wall Street to allow shareholders to vote on these practices.