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LONDON (Alliance News) - The chairman of Barclays PLC's remuneration committee should step down from from the bank's board altogether, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), an association of public sector pension funds based in the UK, said on Monday.
John Sunderland, a non-executive director at Barclays since 2005, is chairman of its remuneration committee, which is responsible for approving pay for executives. He was in that role in 2014, when the bank's pay and bonuses to investment bankers riled shareholders disappointed with returns from the division and the group.
In the weeks leading up to last year's annual general meeting, Barclays appointed Crawford Gillies as a non-executive director. Gillies, also a non-executive director at Standard Life PLC and Mitie Group PLC, joined Barclays' remuneration committee last May, with the bank setting out a plan of having him replace Sunderland as chairman of the remuneration committee "at a date to be agreed, consistent with ensuring a smooth transition".
However, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, which aims to wield influence on behalf of 64 UK pension funds, has reignited the row over Sunderland, saying he has outstayed his welcome at the bank. Drawing attention to Sunderland's continued role at Barclays could up the pressure on the bank ahead of its annual meeting with shareholders, scheduled for April 23.
"Remarkably...Sir John is still chair of the Barclays remuneration committee 11 months later. Sir John therefore presided over another full year of remuneration decisions," the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum said in a statement.
Kieran Quinn, the chairman of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, claimed that Barclays had "gone back on its promise" that Sunderland would step down.
"Having messed up remuneration for 2013 Sir John has in fact stayed on as chair and presided over another year of still unacceptably high pay for 2014, and is still in place in March 2015," Quinn said.
"It's nothing short of misleading shareholders," Quinn added.
Barclays declined to comment to Alliance News.
Barclays shares were down 1.0% at 262.45 pence late Monday afternoon.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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