Eggs and shoes fly as investors vent their anger at directors [View All]

Source: guardian.co.uk

In more normal times, shareholder meetings were relatively genteel affairs. A smattering of people, many retired, would show up, ask a few questions and approve the various resolutions before demolishing the wine and sandwiches. A chief executive was more likely to be challenged over the quality of the biscuits than the finer details of the balance sheet. But now revolution is in the air as investors vent their fury over the huge destruction in shareholder value over the past couple of years.

Yesterday Gary Keogh became the public face of shareholder anger when he pitched rotten eggs at the board of Allied Irish Banks (AIB) at its meeting in Dublin. His protest echoed the violent scenes in Belgium last month when Fortis was forced to suspend its extraordinary meeting after the bank's investors threw shoes at the board and sang the Marseillaise before storming the stage.

With steel giant ArcelorMittal's annual general meeting on Tuesday disrupted by workers throwing smoke-bombs, shareholder gatherings have become one of the financial crisis's key flashpoints.

Bank shareholders are particularly irate because plunging share prices have been accompanied by the cancelling of dividend payments, which many people relied on. The boards of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Barclays were both heavily criticised at their recent AGMs, but directors were spared physical action.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/may/14/banking-royalbankofscotlandgroup

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Some people are getting ticked-off.