Insurance firm Aviva has suffered an embarassing blow after more than half its shareholders voted against its proposals on executive pay at its annual general meeting today.
A total of 54% voted against the remuneration report, according to the BBC, continuing the recent trend of shareholder activism which started at Barclays' AGM last week.
Adjusting for abstentions, the vote against the remuneration report was 50%.
Shareholders were aggrieved over the news that UK chief executive Trevor Matthews had received a £45,000 bonus for one month's work.
The vote against the report comes after a torrid time for Aviva's share price. The insurer's shares have fallen around a third in value over the past year from 450p to near 300p.
On Monday, Aviva's group chief executive Andrew Moss agreed not to take a pay rise in an attempt to alleviate shareholder fury.
Despite the vote, Aviva can plough on with its plans as shareholder votes on pay are not binding and only serve an advisory purpose.
A source at the AGM told Investment Week that 95.39% of the attendees voted for Andrew Moss's re-election, while 91.24% voted for independent non-executive director Scott Wheway's re-election.
