Large Minority of Goldman Shareholders Urge CEO, Chairman Split

Institutional investors will likely be back next year with a new effort to exert more influence on Goldman Sachs (GS) board after a large minority of shareholders voted Friday to separate the role of chairman and CEO at the bank. Roughly 30% of voting shares at the mega-bank voted against CEO Lloyd Blankfein retaining both positions — not enough to convince Goldman to split the role but a substantial enough number to raise serious questions about shareholder relations at the bank in the coming months. In addition, 33% of voting shares opposed the company’s executive compensation plans, including that of Blankfein, also putting a negative spotlight on the company’s executive pay practices.