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The uptick in KeyCorp's set-aside for bad loans was unsurprising considering it had reported credits in some recent quarters, CEO Beth Mooney says. She emphasized declining chargeoffs and a focus on niche lending.
April 19 -
Banks need to increase revenue, and deals are tempting. But shareholders want buybacks and dividends. KeyCorp CEO Beth Mooney discusses the tough calls banks like hers face in the current economic climate.
January 24
Shareholders approved KeyCorp's (KEY) executive say-on-pay plan during the Cleveland bank's calmest annual meeting in years.
Ninety-five percent of investors casting votes backed the compensation plan for executive officers Thursday.
Shareholders have approved the executive pay plans at JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and other banks this spring, but
Separately, the KeyCorp board raised the dividend to a nickel per share, from 3 cents.
Shareholders also approved 14 board nominees, ratified KeyCorp's independent auditor and passed a nonbinding proposal for an independent, nonexecutive chairman of the board. KeyCorp said it would review the recommendation to split the chairman and chief executive jobs, now held by Beth Mooney.
"I feel very good about it," said Gerald R. Armstrong, the Denver-based activist shareholder who offered the recommendation for a split. "They actively opposed it. There is a sense that justice has prevailed. I had lots of conversations about this, and a lot of shareholders called and supported me on this 100% of the way."
Armstrong has made similar — but unsuccessful — proposals to Wells Fargo (WFC)
A year ago KeyCorp was among the first federal-aid recipients to get a negative advisory vote on its executive pay. In the two years before that, former CEO Henry Meyer 3rd
On Thursday, just one shareholder spoke up during the 35-minute meeting, imploring Mooney and other board members to restore KeyCorp to its former greatness and to always put shareholders first.
The company's disciplined growth strategy reflects the board's commitment to shareholders, Mooney replied.
Only one of the directors approved Thursday is new to the board — Richard Hipple, the president and chief executive of engineered materials maker Materion in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
