CtW Investment Group welcomed today’s recommendation by Proxy Governance that its clients withhold their votes from nominees Mary E. Pugh, chair of the finance committee and James H. Stever, chair of the human resources committee, as well as other directors at Washington Mutual’s annual meeting of stockholders on April 15, 2008.

In recommending against Pugh, Proxy Governance wrote in its April 7 report, “we believe that shareholders should not have to wonder if the chairman of the committee responsible for risk management oversight is too indebted to current management to speak her mind on an issue. If the Finance Committee is to continue in its current risk management role, we believe that Pugh should not serve as its chair.”

Proxy Governance further urged shareholders to “communicate their dissatisfaction” with the human resources committee’s “willingness to decouple pay and performance” by voting against all current members of the committee.

Proxy Governance joins proxy advisors RisMetrics/ISS, Glass Lewis and Egan Jones in calling for withholds from Washington Mutual directors. Citing concerns over risk management and compensation, last Friday proxy advisor RiskMetrics/ISS recommended that shareholders withhold votes from all members of the finance and human resources committees. On Thursday, Glass Lewis called for withholds from Pugh, Stever and other members of the human resources committee, and proxy advisor Egan Jones recommended that shareholders withhold from Stever.

Posted by Anna Mumford on April 7, 2008 1:38 PM