If showing up or being represented is 80% of success, to paraphrase film director Woody Allen, then voter turnout at European banks is at least moving in the right direction.

The average proportion of shares made available for voting at the annual meetings of 12 of Europe's biggest banks increased from 46% to 52% this year, according to data from proxy adviser Manifest. But in spite of the slightness of the rise, records have been broken.