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European companies face shareholder anger over pay

Turnout among shareholders — once dubbed 'absentee landlords' — is also on the rise, as is a focus on gender diversity on boards

European companies face shareholder anger over pay

The bosses of Europe's biggest companies have faced another year of growing shareholder anger at their pay packets, according to the region's top corporate governance adviser.

Across 834 shareholder meetings at 786 companies in 2017, the average vote against executive pay went up from 8.3% to 8.6%, according to ISS, the largest of the voting advisory firms that represent shareholders. Those totals included notable rebellions at Credit Suisse, AstraZeneca and the publisher Pearson Group.

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