Warning Shot Fired at Citigroup

Citigroup shareholders had their say on Tuesday, and not surprisingly the attempts by a few insurrectionists to shake things up failed.

All of the proposals endorsed by the board of directors passed, while the proposals put forth by shareholders were shot down. What's interesting, however, is the percentages. These proposals received less than 5 percent of the vote: a plan for an independent study of breaking up the firm by selling all noncore business segments; a plan to prepare a report showing the company does not have a gender pay gap; and a proposal that executive officers must wait 10 years without getting in trouble before a receiving a substantial chunk of deferred compensation.

However, one board-endorsed proposal in particular illuminated where shareholder angst is concentrated. It was Citigroup's compensation plans, which resulted in paydays like this for 2015:

Shareholders representing more than 36 percent of Citigroup's stock voted against the firm's executive compensation policy, highlighting the influence of proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis. Both of them recommended voting against the plan and argued that CEO Michael Corbat's 27 percent raise was not justified by a stagnant share price.