Bank of America Corp will not hold a shareholder vote on its decision to reunite the roles of chairman and chief executive officer, according to the bank’s proxy statement filed on Thursday.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank had been asked by pension funds including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to let shareholders vote on its move to give CEO Brian Moynihan the additional title of chairman last fall.
Critics said the bank had disregarded the will of shareholders who voted to strip previous CEO Ken Lewis of the chairmanship in 2009.
A bank representative declined to comment.
In its proxy statement, the bank wrote its board understands “the 2009 stockholder support for separating the roles of the Chairman and CEO to have been due primarily to dissatisfaction with the then Board’s governance and oversight, the company’s performance, and management decisions at that time.”
While it recognizes some shareholders still would prefer the roles be separated, Bank of America has since made changes to its governance, the proxy states, including adding eight new directors in the last three years to its 15-member board.
“Our company today, compared with 2009, has evolved significantly,” the proxy states.
REUTERS
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