All 15 Directors Receive Majority of Votes Cast
‘Say on Pay’ Approved with 96% of Votes
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced that based on preliminary
voting results at today’s 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders all 15
directors were re-elected with a majority of the votes cast, ranging
from 53 to 99 percent in favor. Stockholders also approved the 2016
compensation of the company’s executives named in its proxy statement
(“Say on Pay”), ratified the appointment of KPMG LLP as the company’s
independent auditors for 2017, and voted to have future votes on named
executives’ compensation every year. Stockholders did not approve the
six stockholder proposals presented at the meeting.
Stephen Sanger, Chairman of the Board, made the following statement:
“Wells Fargo stockholders today have sent the entire Board a clear
message of dissatisfaction. Let me assure you that the Board has heard
that message, and we recognize there is still a great deal of work to do
to rebuild the trust of stockholders, customers and employees.
“In our conversations with stockholders, many have told us they support
the substantial and wide-ranging actions taken by the Board and
management over the last seven months to address the root causes of
sales practice issues, enforce accountability and ensure that such
improper behavior is not repeated. Yet they also feel the understandable
need to hold the entire Board accountable for not moving quickly enough
before that to address these issues – and that is the reason why all
except our newest directors received support from 80 percent or less of
shares voted today.
“The Board is steadfast in our commitment to continue to strengthen
oversight and accountability while working closely with management to
keep improving Wells Fargo. We thank the stockholders who supported us
and we will continue our engagement with stockholders and other
stakeholders in the months and years ahead.”
Based on preliminary voting results, the approximate percentage of votes
cast in favor of each director are as follows:
-
John D. Baker II – 70%
-
John S. Chen – 70%
-
Lloyd H. Dean – 62%
-
Elizabeth A. Duke – 75%
-
Enrique Hernandez, Jr. – 53%
-
Donald M. James – 77%
-
Cynthia H. Milligan – 57%
-
Karen B. Peetz – 99%
-
Federico F. Peña – 54%
-
James H. Quigley – 65%
-
Stephen W. Sanger – 56%
-
Ronald L. Sargent – 99%
-
Timothy J. Sloan – 99%
-
Susan G. Swenson – 67%
-
Suzanne M. Vautrinot – 80%
Based on preliminary voting results, the votes in favor of each Company
proposal as an approximate percentage of shares present in person or by
proxy at the annual meeting and entitled to vote on the item are as
follows:
-
Advisory resolution to approve executive compensation – 96%
-
Advisory proposal on the frequency of future advisory votes to approve
executive compensation – 92% for Every Year (option receiving majority
support)
-
Ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent
registered public accounting firm for 2017 – 97%
Based on preliminary voting results, the votes in favor of each
stockholder proposal as an approximate percentage of shares present in
person or by proxy at the annual meeting and entitled to vote on the
item are as follows:
-
Retail Banking Sales Practices Report – 22%
-
Cumulative Voting – 8%
-
Divesting Non-Core Business Report – 3%
-
Gender Pay Equity Report – 15%
-
Lobbying Report – 8%
-
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Policy – 17%
The stockholder vote percentages announced at the meeting and reflected
above are considered preliminary until the final results are tabulated
and certified by an independent inspector of elections. The final
results will be reported on a Form 8-K that will be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later this week and available
at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based
financial services company with $2.0 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852
and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking,
insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance
through more than 8,500 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com)
and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to
support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With
approximately 273,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three
households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 27
on Fortune’s 2016 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells
Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help
them succeed financially.
Cautionary Statement About Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements about our future
financial performance and business. Because forward-looking statements
are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding the
future, they are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. Do not
unduly rely on forward-looking statements as actual results could differ
materially from expectations. Forward-looking statements speak only as
of the date made, and we do not undertake to update them to reflect
changes or events that occur after that date. For information about
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our
expectations, refer to our reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the discussion under “Risk Factors” in
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its
website at www.sec.gov.