Dissident investors have called for the ouster of Michael Armstrong, former CEO of AT&T, and John Deutch, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency, from the Citi board, according to The Financial Times,
The regulatory filing against the directors came after shareholders discovered that two long-serving directors survived a shareholder vote due in large part to votes cast by brokers. The filing showed that Armstrong and Deutch received 2.6 million votes in favor of their re-election, about 72 percent of total votes. However, nearly half those votes came from brokerages, which usually back management proposals due to a 72-year-old rule that allows them to vote on their clients’ behalf.
Broker voting is due to be axed by the Securities and Exchange Commission later this year. A new provision will state that brokers who do not receive voting instructions from clients 10 days before an election can back management’s proposal.