Marcus Agius, the chairman of Barclays, is to take the unprecedented step of apologising to shareholders over the bank's mishandling of the pay of its top executives.
On Friday, Mr Agius will accept that the bank has not done a good enough job of making its case over remuneration - including the controversial financial arrangements for its chief executive, Bob Diamond - which has sparked a revolt among shareholders.
It is thought he may also pledge to give shareholders a better return on their cash, moving the balance of rewards away from its executives.
Mr Agius is expected to tell shareholders: "Evidently, we have not done a good enough job in articulating our case: on some matters we should have communicated earlier and more clearly.
"For this I apologise and I assure you that in the future we will be engaging differently and more purposefully with shareholders in order to ensure that we obtain a broader level of support on remuneration policy and practice."
As many as a third of the bank's investors are expected to vote against the bank's remuneration report at the annual general meeting in London on Friday.
The meeting at the Festival Hall is expected to be tempestuous, as investors get their first chance to quiz the bank's board, including Mr Agius and Mr Diamond, on executive pay and benefits, and Mr Diamond's £17.7m compensation package.
At least 15pc of Barclays shareholders, including major fund managers such as Fidelity and Scottish Widows, are expected to vote against the bank's remuneration report, and against the re-election of Alison Carnwath, the head of its remuneration committee.
Source: Barclays chairman Marcus Agius to apologise to shareholders for mishandling executive pay row - Telegraph
Oh FFS, apologise?
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