Bonusgate: London’s Shareholder Revolt Is a Win for the 1 Percent

Sure, there’ll always be an England but depending on who signs your paycheck and what blogs you read, London has become embroiled in either “Bonusgate” or a “Shareholder Spring.”

Denizens of the City of London are masticating or ruminating (contingent on whether they’re bears or bulls) on the news that Andrew Moss, chief executive officer of the insurer Aviva Plc (AV/), has stepped down after more than 50 percent of shareholders voted against his proposed pay raise. He did agree to forgo it, but that wasn’t enough. Since Moss had been in the big chair, Aviva’s share price halved and its dividends evaporated. So he picked up his severance package with both hands and took the elevator. As one incandescent shareholder said, only two things were going up: executive pay and nonexecutive pay....

William Hill Plc (WMH), the London bookmaker, won’t be taking bets on whether its chief executive officer, Ralph Topping, will hold onto his paycheck after a similar shareholder revolt.....

Read more at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/london-s-shareholder-revolt-is-a-win-for-the-1-percent.html