MILAN - Leading investor advisory firms have raised concerns over the salary of UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel, with one recommending for a second straight year shareholders vote against his pay package at an April 8 annual meeting.
The latest warning from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis come after the two proxy advisers last year urged shareholders to reject a package that entailed an annual fixed salary of 2.5 million euros ($2.7 million) and a variable remuneration worth up to twice that amount in shares.
The former UBS banker got his pay package approved with just 54% of votes as he took the helm in April last year, despite opposition from UniCredit's top investor BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager.
Glass Lewis again called on UniCredit shareholders to reject the remuneration policy. ISS said it had concerns about the CEO's pay package, but stopped short of recommending a rejection.
"Glass Lewis does not believe that the company's remuneration strategy, as currently constituted, is sufficiently aligned with shareholders' best interests," the proxy adviser said in a report seen by Reuters.
"As such, we do not believe that this proposal merits shareholder support", it added. ($1 = 0.9114 euros)
