Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive and chairman of Goldman Sachs, is keeping both of those roles.
Goldman reached a deal with the CtW Investment Group, an organization that advises union pension funds, to halt a vote on a proposal to split the roles of chairman and chief executive. The proposal, which was sent to Goldman in January, is being withdrawn.
Under the agreement, Goldman is enhancing the powers of James J. Schiro, the lead director. Mr. Schiro will set the agenda for the board, instead of merely approving it, and he will write his own letter to shareholders in the proxy statement, according to Dieter Waizenegger, the executive director of the shareholder advisory group.
In addition, Goldman’s board will increase to four from two the number of annual meetings of the independent directors, who are not employed by the company, Mr. Waizenegger said. Those meetings would exclude Mr. Blankfein; Gary D. Cohn, Goldman’s president and chief operating officer; and David A Viniar, the former chief financial officer, according to Mr. Waizenegger.
“We’ve had a constructive engagement with our shareholders, and believe that the enhancements we have made further solidify the independence of the board,†a spokesman for Goldman, David Wells, said in an e-mailed statement.
Mr. Schiro, the former chief executive of Zurich Financial Services and PricewaterhouseCoopers, was named lead director last year, not long after Goldman created the role in response to a shareholder proposal.
The question of whether a chief executive should also be chairman has generated discussion among shareholders of big banks. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase have chief executives who serve as chairmen, but those roles are separate at Bank of America and Citigroup â€" banks that were propped up during the financial crisis.
At JPMorgan, the board favors the dual role for Jamie Dimon and is working to shore up support among shareholders.
Goldman’s agreement came after the Securities and Exchange Commission denied a request by the firm to remove the proposal from its proxy statement. Mr. Schiro then negotiated with the CtW Investment Group, which advises shareholders and owns a small stake itself, Mr. Waizenegger said.
“At this point, shareholders should feel good about Schiro being a strong counterweight to Blankfein,†Mr. Waizenegger said. “We will have more discussions with the company next month†at the annual meeting.
Reuters reported the move earlier on Wednesday.
